When the Time Comes
by Touchstone
Summary: Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson are best friends, but in a time when they need one another the most will they be there for each other? OE! CHAPTER 10 UP! COMPLETE!
1. One

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own anything in this story except a few plot points. Mr. Wolf does, brilliant man.

The New York fall was crisp and cool, the leaves had all turned and they brilliant hues illuminated the sidewalks. Detective Olivia Benson, of the Special Victims Unit, stepped through them with soft crunching sounds. She tightened the scarf around her neck and sighed. She headed up the steps of the precinct and got ready for a day at work. As she collapsed into her chair, she glanced up and saw that her partner hadn't arrived yet, which was rather odd. Olivia shrugged it off and began to work her way through some tedious paperwork.

It was a full hour later before Elliot Stabler finally appeared. He stormed in and yanked his desk chair out angrily, sitting down with a heavy thud. Olivia raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't hurt yourself." Then she glanced over at the clock and continued, "Way to be on time. Thanks for deciding to grace us with your presence." She grinned at him, but he didn't grin back at the joke. "Benson, do not try me today." He snapped, yanking a file over to his side. "Sorry." Replied Olivia quietly. Elliot looked up, about to say something, but he was interrupted by John walking over and stating, "You two, down to the construction site on 7th, double homicide. Two girls both raped and shot." They both jumped up quickly and headed out.

After reviewing the gruesome murder scene, Elliot and Olivia got back into the car to go and interview some witnesses. "I am sorry I was so testy this morning." Elliott mumbled. "That's alright. Something wrong?" Olivia questioned. Elliot shook his head and didn't respond. He then looked over at her and noticed a very faint blue bruise across her cheek. Elliot then realized she was wearing about five times more make up than usual. "Olivia, what happened?" he exclaimed, gently touching her cheek. "Nothing… I fell yesterday, you know me… so clumsy." She answered, suddenly as evasive as he had been. "Olivia…" "Elliot…" she responded, and then the light turned green and he had to focus on driving. But Elliot's mind lingered on Olivia. She then asked, "What did you do to your hand?" Elliot glanced at her and then at the bandage on his hand. "Yesterday I sliced it open when I was picking up some metal scraps at my house. It's not that bad; the doctor said it doesn't need stitches." Elliot said dismissively. Olivia nodded in response.

Later that day they were investigating another case and were heading up the stairs, when Elliot noticed Olivia somewhat stiffly maneuvering up them. As they reached the landing Elliot said, "Well, one more floor, but we can rest here for a second." Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but stopped and leaned against the wall. After a moment she started heading out, but he stepped in front of her, raising his hand fairly quickly. Olivia instantly recoiled, practically falling over backwards to get out of the way. "Olivia! I wasn't going to hit you!" exclaimed Elliot, helping steady her. She nodded and mumbled, "Sorry, I am just tired." Elliot gave her a gentle hug and asked, "Are you alright." "Fine." She answered, and they both headed up the stairs again.

Elliot slammed his fist loudly against the door, but no one answered. Loud music blared in the background and they looked at each other. "I have a bad feeling about this." Said Elliot and Olivia nodded her agreement. He then kicked out, breaking the door open and they hurried inside. Elliot turned and raced into the bathroom. The young girl who was one of their primary witnesses in a recent murder was lying on her back in a half full tub of water, her wrists slit wide open. "Olivia!" screamed Elliot, plunging his hand into the water and dragging her out of the tub. He noticed that she had shallow breaths and so seized some towels and pressed down hard against her wrists. Olivia followed suit and held the bandage tightly against the girls other wrist while she called 911.

Elliot and Olivia sat in the waiting room of the ER, anxiously awaiting reports on the girl's condition. Olivia looked over at her partner, who was sitting with his chin resting on his hands. He gave her a slight smile and she felt her heart jump as she returned it. "Mr. Stabler?" came a voice. They both looked up and the nurse said, "I need to see you right away. Miss Benson, you don't need to come." "Olivia is coming." Elliot said quickly as he stood up. "Alright…" said the nurse hesitantly. They followed her down the hall and were led into a small examination room, where a doctor stood writing out something. "Ah, detectives." He said with a smile. "The girl will be fine, her condition is now stable. If you hadn't come when you did though, she would have died. You two did great." His smile then faded and he asked to look at Elliot's hand. He glanced at it and then put on some gloves and removed the bandage carefully, tossing its remnants into the bio-hazardous waste container. "All right, well I feel I must tell you this. The young woman you saved has HIV. The bandage seems to have prevented most of her blood from getting near the wounds, but I am going to immediately start you on some drugs to help prevent the virus from taking hold, should it have entered the bloodstream. Nothing serious, Mr. Stabler. Just a precaution." Elliot stood quite silently. Olivia looked at him with extreme worry and shock. The doctor gave him a shot in the arm and then gave him a very long prescription list and told him to pick it up as soon as he left.

"Elliot, are you alright?" questioned Olivia as they got into his car. "I am fine." He snapped, and then they sped off in search of the pharmacy. Afterwards, Elliott dropped Olivia off at her apartment. She gave him a smile as she stepped out of the car. "Hey, Liv?" questioned Elliot as she started to walk away. She turned back and went to his window. "Take care of yourself." He said quietly, and gently traced a hand down her cheek. She nodded and squeezed his hand gently. Elliot watched her walk into her apartment and then slowly drove off.

When he got home he put all of his pill bottles on the table. "Not serious. Whatever." Elliot muttered, looking at the 6 bottles. As he started taking his evening dose his wife walked out. "Elliot, what are these?" she questioned in an icy tone. Reading the labels, she jumped backwards and screamed, "I cannot believe you! I told you before, one more thing and you were out of my house, now get out!"


	2. Two

Chapter 2

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! Also, if you haven't noticed, this does involve a spin off of one of the episodes, so in case you were wondering... Also, I apologize for any spelling errors I missed in this and the previous chapter. I hope you like this chapter and I hope it clears up some confusing parts!

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own anything in this story except a few plot points. Mr. Wolf does, brilliant man.

Elliot stood quite still for a moment, his mind reeling. "Kathy, it really has been a rough day at work, I do not need this." He finally said, pointedly taking the rest of his pills. Kathy glared at him and snapped, "I am not joking. I told you, I want a divorce. And I also don't want a man sleeping in my house who has AIDS." "Kathy, these are preventative! I don't have AIDS!" Elliot exclaimed, but Kathy ignored him. "And I am quite sure that I know where you got it." She hissed, grabbing his wrist. "Spending a little quality time with your bitch of a partner?" Elliot yanked out of her grasp, furiously staring her down. "Leave Olivia out of this! And don't ever call her that again." Kathy grabbed a sheaf of paper from the counter and tossed it at him. "Sign it. But get out first." "Kathy..." Elliot began, and just then the twins walked out of their room, looking up at him with wide eyes. He knelt down and smiled at them. Then he looked up at Kathy. "I hope you realize I own this house too. However, I don't want them to hear us fight all night again, a week of that is rough." Elliot said, glaring at Kathy. "So, I will be back tomorrow after work, and we can discuss this." "All right." Replied Kathy, her voice a little calmer now that the children were inside.

As he drove aimlessly through the streets Elliot reflected on his situation. However a short while later he found himself parked in front of a familiar place, not quite sure how he had gotten there. He sighed and grabbed his jacket, jamming the paper in the glove box.

Olivia had fallen asleep on the couch and was awoken by a loud rapping on the door. She jumped up, her heart pounding. "Liv? It's Elliot. I need to talk to you." She heard a muffled voice say. She gasped in relief and walked over to the door and opened it. Elliot walked in and said nothing until she had locked the door. As she turned around he suddenly scooped her up into a hug. Surprised, Olivia took a second to hug him back, but was quite happy about it. After a while he broke away and said, "Long story, but can I stay with you the night?" "Sure! What happened?" Olivia asked, her eyes searching his. "Well, Kathy and I are getting divorced. That's why I have been in a bad mood lately. Tonight she kicked me out of the house because she thinks I have AIDS, and I didn't want to argue anymore because my kids have lost sleep over this. And I don't really have anyone else to stay with but you, so I was hoping that you would say yes." Olivia stared at him, her mind a jumble of emotions. "Oh.... I am sorry Elliot. Let me guess, she thinks that you contracted AIDS from sleeping with me." It wasn't a question. Elliot nodded slowly and said nothing. "Well, I bet you are tired. Come on, the spare bedroom is back here." Olivia told him, and he followed her out of the living room. "There you go. Have a nice sleep, I will see you in the morning." "Thanks, Liv. I owe you." He said with a grin. "Yes, you do, and I don't know how you will ever be able to pay me back." She replied, a smile lighting up her features. Elliot hadn't seen her smile like that in a long time and could feel his pulse begin to race. He took her hands and said, "Good night."

Olivia woke up the next morning feeling far more rested than she had in weeks. With Elliot in the house, she had slept soundly and peacefully. She got up and found him already awake, with breakfast cooked and ready. "I didn't know you were a chef!" Olivia began with a laugh. "Of course, four kids with varying tastes in food? You would be one too, I am sure." Elliot answered. Olivia tossed her phone and keys up on the counter next to his and sat down next to him. Once they had finished, Elliot's phone began to ring. He picked it up and answered "Stabler." "What?" answered a stunned voice on the other end, John's. "This is Elliot..." Elliot continued slowly. "Yes, I know that! But what are you doing answering Olivia's phone at 6 in the morning?" John exclaimed, and Elliot pulled the phone away from him and looked at it. Sure enough, it was Olivia's phone. "Oh, sorry. I got them mixed up." He told John. "Here's Olivia." "Benson." "Olivia? Did you too have a sleepover?" John questioned, his voice very amused. "No! He just... spent the night at my house." She answered. "A sleepover in other words. Anyway, you two need to get down here at once, we have a suspect in custody." John said, and with that the line went dead.

Olivia slowly hung up the phone, and said "We may have some explaining to do..." Elliot nodded his agreement, grinning. "But we need to get to the precinct right away." She continued.

They walked into the precinct together, which wasn't that unusual, but as soon as they walked in, Finn grinned at them and said, "How was your night? Sure your wife doesn't mind Elliot?" Olivia looked at Elliot who said, "This will be a long story." She grinned and let him tell it.

After work Elliot walked with Olivia back to his car and questioned, "Do you want to come to dinner with me? I have to talk with Kathy first but I could pick you up in an hour or so?" "Oh... I can't tonight... I have a doctor's appointment. Sorry. But if you needed a place to stay, I should be back around ten. Actually, here. This is the spare key to my apartment, you can head over whenever you like." Olivia answered, and gave the key to him. "Thanks." Elliot answered, a little skeptical of her answer.

Elliot decided to go and have dinner alone that night, as he didn't much feel like cooking. Kathy had been in a much better mood that night, though he suspected that was only because he had signed the divorce papers. He trotted up the stairs of his favorite restaurant and went in. About halfway through his meal he got up to go to the bathroom and was just about to head into the men's room when the door opposite it opened. He immediately froze, and a startled Olivia stared back at him.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, her voice a little high pitched. "Having dinner... what happened to your doctors appointment?" he questioned, gently taking a hold of her forearms for no particular reason. "It got cancelled... I will see you later!" she exclaimed, wrenching free of his grasp. "Excuse me, would you mind not harassing my girl?" Olivia jumped and Elliot turned to see a tall man come up next to Olivia. "I am not harassing her, she is my partner." Elliot snapped, looking from Olivia to the man. "Oh yes, Detective Stabler. I am Jake Telluride. I hear a lot about you. How do you like working with her? Quite the handful, isn't she? A right little pistol that's for sure. However, I am positive we will break her of that." He said, holding out his hand. Elliot took it reluctantly but looked at Olivia, who was looking as upset as he had ever seen her. "She is fine just the way she is. I am not quite sure what you mean by breaking." The man smiled at Elliot's remark and said, "I am sure you do. Nice to meet you detective." he said to Elliot, and then too Olivia he said, "Come on." Olivia was jerked away by his arm tightly wrapped around her waist, but she turned back to look at Elliot, and he was almost sure her dark eyes were full of tears.


	3. Three

A/N: Hey thanks for reviewing again! I apologize for the relative random stopping point in the last chapter; I was dealing with a boyfriend who treated me like shit, so I wasn't entirely involved with this story at the time. Thankfully I am free of him now though, so I should be able to focus a little better on this story! Also, sorry for posting chapter one again with chapter two, still new too this site!!!However, that problem is now fixed!Well I hope you all enjoy- just don't jump to many conclusions, I promise any discrepancies will be resolved, just be patient.

Once again, I am going to say that this story I only loosely based on the show (it is fiction after all), years, ages, and other such things are all going to be manipulated by me! Oh yes.... I don't put spaces between characters different lines because I have never taken the time to do it in my other writing, and so am slightly out of practice! Sorry if that bothers anyone, but no one's forcing you to read this...

_Italics indicate flashback!_

Okay, I promise that's the end of my A/N!!!!!!

Elliot lay on Olivia's couch, only half watching the TV. His head spun with conflicting emotions although he knew that the prevalent one was jealousy. He was jarred out of his reverie when the newscaster suddenly stated, "And now, we would like you too hear the story of two of New York City's finest detectives, who went above and beyond the call of duty when they saved a young girl's life Tuesday night." Elliot sat up quickly, he hadn't expected the interview he and Olivia had taken would actually end up on TV. He heard the door click and Olivia walked in. "Liv! Come here!" he exclaimed, momentarily forgetting the events of the evening. She walked over and sat down beside him. Sure enough, their interview came on.

Meanwhile Maureen had just walked in from getting back from a date when she heard Lizzie exclaim loudly, "Maureen, daddy's on TV!" Maureen hurried in, her boyfriend close behind. Kathy walked into the room just at the moment when Olivia started to speak. "That's your dad's partner?" questioned Maureen's boyfriend rather loudly, "Damn, she's fine!" Maureen glared at him and he quickly supplemented with a, "But not as fine as you." Kathy could feel her temper flare. Compliments on Olivia were not what she wanted to hear at this moment. "She isn't that pretty." She snapped. Maureen raised her eyebrows, "Whatever mom." "Be quiet!" exclaimed Kathleen as her father began to explain how he and Olivia had found the girl. The interview concluded with Elliot stating, "Well, its all in the line of duty. We didn't do anything special." The newscaster shook her head and said, "You did wonderfully, Detective Stabler." He smiled and looked over at Olivia, "I have a wonderful partner, she deserves more credit than I." Olivia smiled broadly back as he wrapped an arm around her briefly. Naturally the news decided to pause on that moment. The family was silent for the whole time the news showed the frozen image of the two partners whose smiles said they were more.

"I haven't seen Dad that happy in a long time." Muttered Kathleen. "Me either." Answered Maureen quietly. The two oldest girls looked at each other. Kathy turned and was about to leave the room when suddenly the phone rang. Maureen picked it up and exclaimed, "Hi daddy! I just saw your interview!" Kathy watched as the two chatted for a moment, and then Maureen asked, "Could I talk to Olivia?" There was a seconds silence and then a "Hey Olivia, you looked awesome on TV..."

When the kids had all talked to their dad and Olivia, Kathy turned and glared at Maureen. "Where is he?" Maureen grinned and said, "At Olivia's apartment." Kathy's eyes widened and she was about to continue when Maureen interrupted, saying, "Mother, you have absolutely no room to get angry, you were the one that wanted a divorce. If you go and harass them I will tell daddy about your little secret." With that she turned and walked out with her boyfriend. "What secret?" questioned Kathleen, curiously looking at her mother. Kathy stood quite still.

Elliot and Olivia watched as their picture slowly faded. Elliot then shut off the TV and looked over at Olivia. "You could have told me you had a date." "El, I am sorry, I..." Olivia began, but he interrupted her. "Liv, I have known you for years, and you should have told me about Jake." Elliot said sharply. "Elliot, I really was going to tell you, I have only dated him for a month..." "Oh, only a month? Well that makes it so much better." He snapped bitterly. "El, are you jealous?" Olivia asked, and he stood up angrily. "Of course not! I just thought you ought to have told me! I am your partner!" "You are one too talk about my love life Elliot, when you have been happily married for the majority of the time I have known you!" Olivia exclaimed, standing up and glaring back at him. "And I am going to break up with him!" There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and then Elliot asked, "You are?" "Yes, and I hope that makes you happy." Olivia answered, her voice cracking slightly. "Liv..." Elliot started, but she turned and walked away, slamming her bedroom door.

They didn't speak much the next morning, and went to work in a fairly bad mood. Olivia irritably began ruffling through papers and Elliot started on some phone calls. It was an unusually slow day, what Olivia knew from experience to be the calm before the storm. After while Elliot asked her, "Hey Liv? Would you mind running and getting the file of the Smith case out of the car?" She looked up and saw he was about to take a phone call on the case and nodded. Elliot watched as she got up and walked outside. Then he focused on the call and said, "Stabler speaking."

When Olivia came back in Huang was standing at Elliot's desk, waiting for him to finish the call. Elliot saw her walk in and said, "Mrs. Smith, would you mind speaking to my partner, detective Benson?" Elliot smiled and then said, "Hold on one second." He got up handed the phone to Olivia and walked off with Huang. Olivia smiled at her partner, who was in for his second consultation that week evaluating his progress with the other psychiatrist he was seeing aside from Huang. Elliot was hit particularly hard by some cases and as a result had to undergo treatment, though he ardently insisted he would be fine without it. However, Olivia had in the end convinced him to go along with it, as he wouldn't be able to keep his badge otherwise.

Elliot flopped down in a chair in Huang's office and folded his hands together. Huang looked at him and then asked, "So Elliot, how has it been going?" "Fine." Answered Elliot, his mind not exactly on the task. "Elliot, you must talk to me." Huang began as usual, and then Elliot sat up, far more interested. "I have an idea. I have been being so good going to my other appointments that maybe we could talk for a little bit about Olivia." He said, and Huang nodded curiously. "Well, she has been acting really odd lately. Not like her at all. I think you ought to talk to her. I know she is hiding something." "Alright, I will do that Elliot." Huang said, "As soon as I am done with you. Now how long has it been since Kathy first asked for a divorce?" "Three months ago tomorrow. This last week we had been fighting constantly, until I left." "You left?" "Well, yes, technically. She completely overreacted when she saw the drugs I was taking to help prevent me from contracting HIV, and kicked me out. I would have argued and stayed, as it is also my house, but I didn't want my kids to keep hearing us fight. I have been staying with Olivia until the divorce is finalized." Elliot said, probably the longest run of coherent sentences he had ever had when talking with Huang, as usually he was a little temperamental about it. Huang nodded and said, "And how do you feel about this? Upset?" "I feel bad that my kids have to go through it. But Kathy and I just haven't really been getting along." "And why are you staying with Olivia?" questioned Huang. "Isn't it obvious? She lives close by, and I have someone to talk too." "I see. And how do you too get along?" "Oh we argue quite a bit, but it never is bad, its just what we have always done, ever since I met her." Elliot smiled, "She is a very stubborn woman, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And she is really very kind, and extraordinarily sensitive to me. She always knows when something is bothering me." Huang smiled back, and then said, "Well, just out of curiosity, when did you too start working together?" "Six years ago. I will never forget that day. She saved my life." Elliot said. Huang looked at him and he pulled down the collar of his shirt slightly. Jut below his collarbone on the left side was an old scar. Huang looked at it and asked, "What happened?"

Elliot began to tell the story.

_"Detective Stabler, please come to my office. Your new partner is in there and I want you two too meet." Cragen said, and Elliot looked up. "Now." Cragen added, walking away. Elliot stood painstakingly slow and shook his head irritably. Munch walked over to him and said, "Elliot, you will want to go meet her. I wish she was my partner." Finn looked up, glaring at Munch, who laughed and said, "Sorry, but honestly, wouldn't you want her for your partner?" Finn thought about it for a second and then nodded vigorously, "Yes, I would. You would be kicked to the curb, Munch." "How is it that everyone has seen her but me?" Elliot asked, and Munch replied, "Well, she came in early, you came in late... Does that make sense to you, Elliot?" Munch questioned, and Elliot cracked his knuckles jokingly. "See her for yourself Elliot. Young, gorgeous, single, and your new partner!" Elliot rolled his eyes, but was slightly intrigued as he walked into Cragen's office. _

_As he stepped inside he realized that gorgeous hardly began to describe her. He stood frozen for a long while until a slight smile came to her lips that lit up her dark intense eyes. At that he abruptly regained his composure, knowing that she was probably laughing at him. After all, he thought to himself, the guys are probably all over her 24/7. "Elliot?" Cragen asked him. "Yes?" "Meet your new partner." "Nice to meet you Mr. Stabler. Olivia Benson." She said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear and then shaking his hand. Elliot smiled back and then turned to Cragen. "See Elliot, I didn't do too badly picking you a new partner." he said quietly, and then continued, "Now, its her first day being a detective, so take good care of her." "You haven't done any other detective work with another precinct?" Elliot questioned, and she shook her head. "I got out of graduate school a year ago with a degree in law." Elliott nodded and thought, so, about 26 years old, six years younger than I. "Alright you two, get too work!" Cragen said, and Elliot lightly took her arm and led her out._

_Their first stop that morning was too interview the mother of one of their murder victims. Olivia seemed remarkably comfortable working with him, a far easier adjustment than he thought it would have been. "When was the last time you saw you daughter?" Elliot questioned the woman, who sighed. "About a year ago. I didn't see her much." "Why is that?" "Well... I wanted her to learn to be independent during her college years and we always had a slightly strained relationship." The woman said, somewhat evasively. Elliot began too lose patience but Olivia intervened, asking, "Where is her father?" "I never know him. I was raped." The woman answered. Olivia nodded and said, "So I suppose that's why you had a strained relationship." "Yes." She answered, looking at Olivia with a certain degree of spite. "You cannot even begin to understand what it was like. I loved her. I truly did. But every time I looked at her, I remembered. So I didn't mind not seeing her very often." "You would be surprised at how much I understand, Ms. Lawrence." Olivia responded bitterly. But Ms. Lawrence didn't seem to be listening anymore, and said, almost too herself, "I sometimes wonder if I made the right decision, having her."_

_When they had gotten back into Elliot's car he had noticed that she was wiping her eyes slightly. "Are you alright Miss Benson?" he questioned, somewhat gruffly. "Yes, I am fine." She responded. "No, you're not." Elliot answered. She looked up and snapped, "I am sorry, Mr. Stabler, I just got too emotional. I promise I won't let it happen again." "Miss Benson, I am here to help you. And we are going to be partners, so we might as well get too know one another." Elliot replied, glancing at her. "Alright. My mother was raped. You are looking at the product." Olivia said, and Elliot looked for a long time into her fiery eyes. "I am sorry." He said finally, "Though I wouldn't call you a product. I would call you a person." She looked over at him, a smile lighting up her features, "You are perhaps the nicest person I have ever known." "You have got too be kidding me." Elliot responded, his eyebrows raised. "I am not kidding. Most guys flip when I tell them that." Olivia answered matter of factly. "Well, I must admit, I would have thought that they would be able to see past that. You look quite capable at making men flip for other reasons, Miss Benson." Elliot answered, and she blushed, turning away. "Just Olivia is fine." "Alright, then just call me Elliot."_

_"Now, this girl has been a problem. She is the only person who really knew our victim and isn't cooperating." Elliot told Olivia as they stood outside the door to a dingy looking apartment. Olivia nodded and he knocked loudly on the door. No one answered, so Elliot banged louder. When there was still no answer, Elliot turned the handle of the door, finding it too be quite loose. "Looks like we may have forced entry." He said quietly. He pulled out his gun and noted Olivia did the same. He then kicked out and the door swung open, eerily creaking in the stillness of the apartment. "Miss Johnson!" Elliot yelled, stepping in front of Olivia. They stepped around the corner and found Miss Johnson._

_She was laying on her back, shot through the head and chest several times. Elliot sprinted over to her and looked around. "Olivia, call the paramedics." "Elliot... there's someone in here." Olivia said, standing up. "Murderer's don't usually linger at a crime scene." Elliot said off handedly. "No, Elliot, I know there is someone in here!" Olivia exclaimed. "Look Olivia, I am supposed to take care of you, not you of me. I have been a detective considerably longer than you." Elliot said. "Fine." snapped Olivia, walking around the body and glancing around. _

_She walked down the hall, her gun raised. Peeking around the corner into the bathroom she heard Elliot call the paramedics. Olivia glanced around the bathroom, turning on the light and seeing nothing that caught her attention. Suddenly Elliot ceased speaking, and Olivia heard a crash. She ran back into the living room, finding a clearly deranged man standing over Elliot. His hands were dripping in blood, and he held a gun to the back of Elliot's head, who lay still, blood oozing out of a cut on his head. "Sir, put the gun down! Put the gun down!" she screamed, and he raised his gaze to her. He snickered madly and then said, "First I kill your boyfriend. Then I do too you what I did to that other bitch." "If you take one more step, I will shoot you!" Olivia shrieked, pointing her gun at his head. The man hesitated, then stepped over Elliot, taking a few steps toward her. Olivia saw what he was going to do the second before he did it. As the man wheeled around Olivia fired. Just as the killer pulled the trigger, Olivia's bullet ripped through his chest. He staggered, falling to the side. The bullet meant for Elliot's heart went far to the side of its mark. _

_Olivia ran over to Elliot and turned him over. "Elliot! Elliot! You have to stay with me!" Olivia cried as she pulled him up into her lap, pressing her knee against the bullets exit wound and holding her jacket against the front in an effort to slow the bleeding. She picked up her phone one handed and dialed. "This is Benson. We need paramedics here immediately. My partner's been shot!" _


	4. Four

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I have come to terms with it… almost...

A/N: I did my best to separate characters different lines into their own paragraphs, please bear with me, its probably very wrong! I have replied to a couple reviews below that had some questions.

Vertigo Mac: Thanks for the advice about the spacing, I gave it my best shot! Also the points you gave were well called, however, there will be some explanation too the first two. As for Fin arriving after Olivia, I really had no idea as I only started watching with season four, sorry about that.

Emsta: Thanks as well for the spacing tips. I fairly certain that this flashback didn't happen in the show, as I made it up! However if it did, that is really very strange and I am worried… lol.

And thanks to everyone else for reviewing, I really appreciate them (especially the ones that are nice and have good advice: ) Here's a nice long chapter for you all!

_Olivia used her shoulder to held the phone to her ear while she was put on hold and stroked Elliot's forehead. "Elliot, stay with me. Don't you give up. Don't leave me by myself." She murmured, tears falling down her cheeks. _

_Elliot's eyes flickered open. "L…Liv?" he questioned. _

_"It's okay, Elliot, the paramedics are coming. You going to be fine." Olivia whispered, pressing harder on the makeshift bandage on his shoulder. _

_"I was supposed to take care of you…" he muttered, but Olivia shook her head. _

_"It's fine, El, just keep still."_

_As the paramedics rushed in Olivia glanced up, and a bright flash made her squint. Olivia winced at the light of the camera and then focused on Elliot. "It's alright miss, we can take it from here." Said one of the paramedics, taking Elliot gently from her and placing on oxygen mask on his mouth and nose. Olivia stood and watched as they took care of the man she had shot and covered the girl with a sheet. Then she looked back at Elliot, who was being loaded onto a stretcher._

_"Miss Benson?" came a voice. Olivia looked up and saw the doctor standing over her. _

_She leapt to her feet and asked, "How is he?" _

_"He made it through surgery just fine. You saved his life. If the bullet had been a little lower…" the doctor trailed off. _

_"Can I see him?" _

_"Yes, but he will be groggy from the anesthesia. Oh, and Miss Benson, the other man died."_

_Olivia walked into Elliot's room, finding him looking around. "Liv!" he exclaimed. _

_"How are you doing?" she asked, sitting down next to him. "Alive, thanks to you." _

_"I am just sorry I didn't get there sooner." Olivia said quietly, taking his hand gently. _

_"You did awesome. You had a rough first day on the job. I am sorry about that." Elliot said, his eyes finding hers. _

_Olivia nodded and said, "I killed the guy who shot you." _

_"I am so sorry. If you ever need to talk, let me know." Elliot said and then he shut his eyes in exhaustion. _

_"Get some rest." Olivia said gently, getting up to leave. "Where's your wife?" she suddenly asked. _

_"She can't make it in until tomorrow. The doc told me. Stay a while with me?" Elliot asked, reaching out for her hand. _

_"Of course." Olivia answered, sitting back down beside him. Elliot smiled and closed his eyes again. After a while his breathing steadied and he was sound asleep. Olivia fell asleep, her hand still holding his. _

_Early the next morning Olivia awoke to find a pleasant looking nurse walking in. "Was I in here all night?" Olivia questioned, yawning. _

_"Yes, you didn't even wake up when I took his vitals at two in the morning. Normally its not policy to have people stay over night, but he looked like he enjoyed having you around, so I let it slide. You two dating?" she asked as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Elliot's arm. Olivia looked down and saw her hand still clasping his. She blushed and slipped it out. Standing up she straightened out her now very wrinkly shirt and ran a hand through her hair. The nurse smiled at her and said, "You two seem quite perfect for one another. He woke up when I took his vitals, and just smiled at you." _

_Olivia flushed again, deciding this conversation was way too awkward. "I will be back." _

_Elliot's wife didn't show that morning, but came later that afternoon. She talked with Elliot for a few minutes before he called Olivia in. "Kathy, meet my new partner, Detective Benson." Elliot said, and Kathy looked over. Olivia was quite used to people taking an instant dislike to her, and knew that's what was happening now. Kathy reluctantly reached out and shook her hand, muttering a thanks. Suddenly the nurse came bustling in. _

_"Hello, Mr. Stabler, how are you feeling?" _

_"Oh, better than I was." Elliot said with a grin. _

_"Good! I have something that might cheer you up." She said, handing him a paper. Elliot stared for a second and then handed the paper to Olivia. She took it curiously and saw her own tear streaked face staring back at her. The main page had a picture of her holding Elliot, the background of the murder scene blotted out, and so their faces stood out quite clearly. The article was titled _Heroic New Cop Joins NYPD Special Victims Unit.

_Kathy snatched the paper and her eyes widened. After a moment she turned to Elliot and said, "I have to go pick up the kids, but I will be in later." _

_The nurse shook her head and smiled at Olivia. "I never knew anyone that could look so good when crying!" _

_Olivia laughed and said, "Ya, sure." _

Elliot looked up at Huang, who was sitting on the edge of his seat, listening. "Olivia came to visit me every day for the three weeks I was in the hospital. And when I got back to the office, she had caught up all of my cases that I was behind on. I couldn't ask for a better partner."

"How many times did Kathy come to visit you?" Huang asked suddenly.

"Twice. The kids came a few times with my parents, though." Elliot answered.

"I see." Answered Huang.

"What?" asked Elliot.

Huang didn't say anything and then said, "Well, bring Olivia in too see me."

Elliot walked back out to find Olivia busily working on a file, jotting down copious notes. "Liv, Huang wants to see you." Elliot said, and Olivia looked up.

"You set me up a shrink appointment?" she exclaimed.

"No, he just wants to talk to you." Elliot lied, and Olivia stood.

"Oh Maureen stopped by while you were in there." She added, turning back to face him.

"She did? What did she need?" questioned Elliot.

"She just needed a check for the Columbia application."

"Oh no… I forgot about that." Elliot moaned, reaching for the phone.

"Don't worry about it! I wrote her one. It's fine." Olivia said, taking the phone from him.

"Are you serious? You didn't have to do that!" exclaimed Elliot.

"Well I wanted to. It's fine." Olivia said, and Elliot shook his head.

"Hold on, I will pay you back."

"Elliot! Don't worry about it!" Olivia exclaimed, shoving away the cash. "Really. It wasn't a problem." With that she turned and hurried away.

"Olivia, you haven't been in too see me since 9/11." Huang remarked when she came in.

"No." she answered, looking over at him, "And I don't want to talk about 9/11 again."

"Olivia, its very important. You can't just bottle up all your emotions. I know you had an extremely traumatic experience, and you have to talk about it."

"I would say it was traumatic! A five year old girl died in my arms, and I couldn't do anything about it! I talk with Elliot about it a lot, he was with me." muttered Olivia.

"Good. Anyone else? Your boyfriend?" Huang asked, and she started.

"What?"

"Do you talk about it with your boyfriend?" Huang repeated.

"No! Plus he isn't really my boyfriend. I don't like him all that much."

"But he likes you." Huang added.

"I guess." Said Olivia evasively.

"Hold on." Huang said after thirty minutes of questioning. He got up and walked out of the office. He summoned Elliot over. "Well she isn't talking. However, I get the feeling that she doesn't like the guy one bit, but for some reason is trying to keep him happy. She is quite afraid of him, though why I can't say."

"Venture a guess."

"Well… it seems that if she mentions something… she will lose her job." Huang said.

"Are you kidding me? Olivia is letting some guy walk all over her because she is concerned about her job?" Elliot exclaimed, and Huang grimly nodded. Elliot spun and stormed into Huang's office.

Olivia saw him come in and stood to greet him. "El, what is it?"

"Olivia… we have to talk." Elliot said, sitting down next to her.

"About what?"

"Are you letting this Jake guy abuse you because you are worried about your job?" Elliot questioned, his icy blue eyes gazing into hers.

Olivia's eyebrows narrowed and she asked, "What makes you think he is abusing me? Do you honestly think I would put up with that?"

"Ya, I do." Elliot answered, and then reached out and grabbed her hand. Her eyes widened and she tried to jerk away as he yanked up her sleeve. Dark bruises ran the length of her arm. Elliot stared, for though he had known he would find something, he hadn't expected it too be this bad. "Huang!" Elliot called, and the door opened instantly. Elliot stood, pulling Olivia up next to him.

Huang gazed at Olivia, from the dark bruises on her arms to her panicked eyes and then said, "The call is up to you." Olivia nodded and pulled out of Elliot's grasp, hurrying out the door.

Elliot hurried out after her and watched as she seized several files and threw them in her bag. "Olivia, I'm sorry. But you cannot let him treat you like this."

"Just leave me alone Elliot. I am going home to work on theses files, I will see you later." Olivia snapped.

Elliot reached out and grabbed her arm, "Liv, don't let him do this to you. And mark my words, if he touches you again, I will kill him myself."

Her eyes widened at the seriousness of his tone, and the underlying care for her. "See you later." Olivia repeated, racing out the doors as fast as she could.

That night Elliot walked into Olivia's apartment to find her sitting at the kitchen table working on paperwork. "Hey Liv." He said quietly, and she looked up. Elliot noticed she had changed into sweats and a tank top, which revealed several more bruises on he shoulders and upper arms.

"Sorry." She said quietly, then stood up. "I know you are only trying to help."

Elliot looked at her sadly and ran a hand down her cheek. "I don't want you to get hurt." He answered softly, then kissed her forehead. Olivia wrapped her arms around him and he ran his hands gently over her back.

"Thanks, El." She whispered, burying her forehead in his shoulder. Elliot realized then the feelings he had always had for his partner, and that she reciprocated them. He raised her chin to look at him and kissed her. Olivia was surprised at first, but didn't pull away. Elliot ran his hands through her hair and then rubbed them up and down her sides. Abruptly Olivia jumped away.

"Sorry." Elliot said quickly.

"No… There's someone at the window." Olivia answered, her hand shaking as she pointed. Elliot looked and saw the very angry face of Jake Telluride glaring back at him.

In no time at all, Jake had moved from the window to the door and banged on it quite loudly. "Stay there." Elliot told Olivia, and with that he ambled over to the door, opening it slowly.

"What the hell do you think you are doing with my girlfriend?" he screamed, and Elliot's face darkened.

"First of all, she is my partner, and I don't appreciate the way you have been treating her- and if you touch her again, I will personally see to it that you don't live to do it again. So I advise you to leave, and don't bother her again." Jake stood rigid for a second until Elliot slammed the door. The heavy thudding of footsteps echoed as he angrily went down the stairs.

"See, not that hard." Elliot answered, trotting back over to her.

Olivia didn't respond for a second and then said, "Apparently not." Then she paused and added, "I didn't know he was coming over."

Elliot put his hands on her hips and said, "I still don't understand why you let him do that to you."

"Elliot… you don't understand. He's…"

"He's what?" asked Elliot gently.

"Nothing. See you in the morning." Olivia said, and then hurried off to her bedroom.

Elliot woke up the next morning a little later than usual and found that Olivia had already left. He found a note on the counter explaining that she had too get something done at work early that morning, and would meet him later.

When Elliot drove up to work that morning he found a very interesting sight. After parking he got out of the car and walked over to the big brown horse tied to the parking meter. "Hey… horse." He said to it after a moment, reaching out and patting its neck. Elliot looked closer at it and found its saddle pad had the NYPD emblem upon it. "Oh, you are a police horse, I get it." He said again, to no one in particular. With that he hurried up the steps to the precinct, and sure enough found Olivia chatting away with a kindly looking older gentleman clad in NYPD Mounted Police Uniform. As he walked up, the man reached out and shook Olivia's hand.

"Thank you, Miss Benson. I am so sorry about that. I can assure you it will be taken care of." He turned and saw Elliot standing there, smiled and then said, "You must be Detective Stabler."

"Yes, I am."

"Nice to meet you. I am William Gates, Captain of the NYPD Mounted Unit." He said, shaking Elliot's hand as well. Suddenly his radio crackled something about a suspect escaping nearby. "Well I must go, but nice to meet you. I will be in touch soon, Miss Benson." William said, and then hurried down the steps and untied his horse. He quickly got on and trotted quickly away, turning the corner and breaking into a canter.

"What was that all about?" questioned Elliot.

"You were right. I needed to tell someone. Jake couldn't get away with it." Olivia answered.

"Yes, but why go to the mounted police?" Olivia shrugged and went back to her file. Elliot knew he wouldn't get anywhere arguing with her and so just went about his own work. After a while he took a phone call, and once again realized he didn't have the right file. "Hey, Liv?" he questioned with a pleading look on his face. "Could you get a file out of my car for me?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and asked, "You forgot again?" Elliot nodded. "Alright, but this is the last time." Olivia scolded, walking out.

Elliot was so caught up in the call that he didn't notice the soft resounding noise the bleeped outside the window until Fin walked by and said, "Hey Elliot, I think Olivia set off the alarm in your car." Elliot looked up, confused. Olivia had a key. Suddenly a loud shot rang out, and almost everyone in the precinct looked up. "Elliot!" Fin suddenly yelled, and Elliot quickly hung up the phone, and sprinted over to the doors. Fin was already down the steps when Elliot swung open the door to the outside. The blast of cold air that hit him was nothing compared to what he saw. The drivers side window was smashed in, the glass fragments scattered everywhere. Blood droplets scattered about the ground and leather interior of the car and the windshield had a crack running its length. The file was laying on the floor and there was a huge dent in the side of the car.

"Fin, go in and tell the captain!" Elliot yelled, turning to face him. Fin nodded, sprinting back up the stairs where a gathering of cops had already appeared. Elliot looked up the ground and saw Olivia's gun there, and when he picked it up, it was obviously the gun that had fired the bullet.

A man standing nearby with his dog in hand stared in Elliot's direction obviously very stunned. Elliot ran over to him. "What did you see?" he yelled, and the man looked like he was going to pass out.

"She got into the car and that's when he came up behind her. He tried to take her gun, back she smashed the window of the car in with it and the alarm started going off." He began, and then trailed off, his eyes were welling up with tears. "Then they got into a fight over the gun and it went off. I don't know who got hit or if they weren't, but all the sudden he grabbed her arms and tossed her against the windshield." Elliot stared, and the man slowly finished, by now he was crying freely. "She stopped struggling after that."

"And you did nothing?" shrieked Elliot, grabbing the man's shoulders.

"I didn't… I thought he was catching a suspect." Bawled the man, and Elliot abruptly let him go.

"What?" questioned Elliot.

"He was a cop. He had a big black horse and he dragged the girl up onto it and galloped off." The man wailed, and then for added emphasis repeated, "He was a cop, I thought you were supposed to help people!"


	5. Five

A/N: Hey guys! So this addition has another flashback. Well hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own them. Unfortunately.

The man sat in the precinct, his hands still shaking as he talked with Munch, who was patting his dog. Elliot watched, every nerve in his body completely on fire. He couldn't believe what had just happened, and he blamed himself for forgetting the file and making her go and get it. "I don't know he was just tall and white." responded the man to Munch's question about the perp's appearance. Elliot suddenly leapt up. He raced over to his computer and quickly typed in two words into the database. They came up with an instant hit.

"Officer Jake Telluride, NYPD Mounted Division." Spat Elliot, looking at the photo after reading the caption. He grabbed a copy of it as it printed out and ran to Cragen's office. "It's him." Said Elliot, and Cragen looked at the picture.

"Let's go get the son of a bitch." Cragen said, slamming the picture down on his desk.

Maureen yawned as she walked down the hall of the hospital. She volunteered nights in the hospital and was running an errand for a doctor to the front desk. Maureen turned as the doors slid open. Her jaw dropped as she saw a tall man in a hooded sweater haul in a woman who was staggering unsteadily- a woman she recognized. They got a little closer and Maureen whispered, "Olivia?" The woman the man was practically dragging across the floor looked up.

"Maureen." She answered, the phrase taking up all of her energy. The man ground to a halt because of the conversation. Maureen suddenly saw a large bleeding wound in Olivia's knee. Her breath was ragged and her eyes were shining with pain.

"Sir, can I help you?" Maureen said loudly, reaching out towards Olivia.

The man pulled her away and then said, "Yes, she had gotten out my gun and accidentally shot herself. I think she needs a bandage or something, it hasn't stopped bleeding and its been a few hours."

Maureen's eyes were wide but she said calmly, "Hold on, let me page Doctor Swanson." The man stood anxiously, looking around with darting eyes. Olivia was pushing against him, trying futilely to shove him away.

The doctor responded to Maureen's page and was on his way down when suddenly the man screamed at Olivia, "Stand on your own then bitch, see if you can do it!" Maureen watched as he shoved her away from him. Olivia collapsed instantly. Doctor Swanson ran in just in time to see her attempt to stand and hurried over to her, but the man stepped in front of her. "Hold on. I am making a point." He snapped at the doctor, then turned to Olivia. "Come on, get up!" Olivia's head reeled as she came to a sitting position and then stood. She was extraordinarily unsteady and then looked weakly at Maureen, who was standing looking horrified. "Walk. If you can make it to the doctor, you can see him." The man snarled at Olivia. By now the entire waiting room was watching. Olivia was visibly shaking as she took two steps. Doctor Swanson jumped forward as she collapsed again and glanced at her knee.

"Sir, she needs surgery on that knee. And I think she has got a severe concussion." Doctor Swanson said. Then he looked closer at her. "Oh my god, it's Detective Benson! Maureen, it's your dad's partner!" he exclaimed, looking over at Maureen, who was on the phone.

The man's eyes widened. "That's it. Come bitch, I will drag you out." He said to Olivia, reaching out and grabbing her arm.

The doctor stood and pushed him away. "You don't understand, she needs surgery! If she gets an infection in the joint capsule…"

"Don't you dare threaten me!" screamed the man, and he pulled out a gun. Doctor Swanson backed away hesitantly.

The man dragged Olivia up, and then Maureen said, "The police are on their way. You take her and I guarantee that they will kill you."

"You little bitch! Now I know for sure you are related to this one!" Jake shrieked in response, shaking Olivia to emphasize his point.

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed Maureen, "My mother is Kathy Stabler."

"Yes well it seems your father and this whore have been having an affair, and it looks like you are the product!" he yelled, and Maureen rolled her eyes.

"Yes, as Olivia would have been… twelve years old when she had me, and that really makes sense." She said cynically. The man was now livid, and pressed the gun to Olivia's head.

Maureen was terrified, praying her father would get there and that they could keep them in the hospital long enough for the police to arrive. She looked to Doctor Swanson for help, and he stepped forward. "Sir, if you would let me, I will go get you some bandage material. It will help stop the bleeding." The man hastily nodded. Doctor Swanson sprinted away and returned quickly. He quickly treated the wound and bandaged it tightly. Flashing lights made Jake turn. "The police are here." Said the Doctor, "Now let her go, she is going to die without help."

"NO!" screamed the man, "And if take one more step, I am going to shoot her. Then I will kill you, and the bitch's daughter."

Doctor Swanson froze. Maureen realized that she was crying and whispered, "Olivia, don't give up. You can't leave my dad, he needs you." Much to her surprise, Olivia looked up and smiled slightly, though it didn't reach her eyes.

The man was backing away, and then suddenly the police rushed in. Maureen sighed in relief as her father rushed in and leveled his gun at Olivia's attacker. "Stabler, do not even think about it. I will kill her. And I know how you could not live with that." Jake snickered, slowly backing out the doors. "Let her go!" screamed Elliot, but Jake shook his head.

"You don't understand detective. I feel that Olivia doesn't connect enough with her cases. But don't worry, tonight the SVU detective will become a special victim, and I guarantee you, she will finally understand." Jake said, grinning at Olivia. Elliot's gun began to shake as his eyes darkened with rage. "Don't move detective. Killing her doesn't bother me." Jake added as he pulled her out the door. Elliot sprinted after and the police guarding the doors began to swarm around.

"Elliot! Don't! I will be alright!" Elliot stared as Olivia screamed and he noticed that Jake's gun was now pointed at him. He pulled to the right, narrowly missing a bullet. Several more shots fired and the police quickly went for cover. In a few seconds the dust and debris in the air from him shooting the exterior of the hospital cleared and Jake and Olivia had vanished.

Elliot stormed back into the hospital to find Maureen standing looking positively terrified as she talked to Doctor Swanson. "What is it?" Elliot asked, and the doctor shook his head.

"Detective, you need to get her to a hospital as soon as you find her. She can't even walk, and its only going to get worse." Swanson told him, and then he turned and removed the bloody gloves he wore from putting on her bandage. Maureen looked at her father and then wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh dad, you should have seen what he did. He made her try to walk and she couldn't! I have never seen Olivia this way, ever. Please, go and save her."

Olivia slid off the back of the horse what seemed to be a long while later. Jake gave her a helping shove so that she hit the ground harder. She lay back on her back, trying to remember the last time she had felt this horrible. Not for a long time, she eventually decided. The click of a loading gun made her sit up. "Sorry, but they are looking for us on a black horse." Jake said, and then aimed the gun at his horse. Olivia's eyes widened and she gave a violent kick with her good leg, sending him off balance and the bullet ricocheting harmlessly off of the brick wall near them. The horse screamed and then galloped off. "Bitch!" screamed Jake, giving her a kick in the side. Olivia then slipped out of consciousness and didn't wake for a long time.

Olivia came to when the sky was pitch black, indicating to her that it was sometime in the middle of the night. She was also in a car. Looking around, she found herself in a silver suburban with Jake at the wheel. "I see you have deciding to grace me with you presence." Said, Jake, glancing over to her. Olivia rolled her eyes at him and then took in her surroundings. Outskirts of the city somewhere, she realized, and then looked down at her knee. The pain was so intense that it shot all through her body. She then noticed that it had bleed through the bandage. Olivia looked at Jake through the corner of her eye. She pressed her hand against her knee and felt warm liquid come up around it. Slowly removing her hand she smeared it along the outside of the car. Jake, being the intelligent person he was, he left the windows open. Now anyone who passed the car would see blood all over the outside, something Olivia prayed would give the police an idea of where they were. Suddenly Jake pulled over. "Get out!" he yelled, and Olivia did, making sure to smear more blood on the car so that it would not be missed. It was very dark and getting quite cold. Jake came up beside her and then helped her over to the wall of a building. Olivia eased herself down to the ground while she watched as he worked on the door.

"Doesn't seem to be working, does it?" smirked Olivia, but she abruptly stopped because it hurt to badly to speak. Jake turned and screamed some insults, and Olivia just lay back down. Suddenly Olivia saw an old Hispanic woman standing nearby, looking quite concerned. Jake didn't notice, and Olivia dragged herself slowly towards her. Olivia quietly asked her if she could help, but quickly learned the woman didn't speak English. She sighed and began to speak in Spanish, slowly and painfully. The woman's eyes widened, but she nodded. Jake turned as the door swung open and then saw Olivia muttering in Spanish.

"Get over here." He yelled, and she quickly turned and pulled herself over to him.

"Elliot! We found something!" yelled Fin from around the corner. Elliot sprinted over and then stopped quickly as a great black horse greeted him.

"Oh my god Fin, way to scare me!" exclaimed Elliot, looking over at Fin who held the horses rope. "How do we know this is the horse? I checked the mounted unit, there are over twenty black horses registered to them." Elliot asked and Fin turned the horse. Elliot's eyes widened and he stepped forward.

"This is the only horse with Olivia's blood all over its side." Fin said simply. Elliot stared at the dried blood smeared across the horses side and shook his head. "Damn horse almost got hit by a semi! It was running frantically around the city until a rancher visiting his cousin in the city managed to catch it. The mounted unit just brought it to us." Fin said, patting the horses neck affectionately. Then he handed the horse back to a mounted officer and walked over to Elliot. "I talked to the doctor that saw Olivia, however briefly. He says that he thinks she has a concussion and that that combined with the blood she's lost… is going to make it very hard for her to live through the night if she stays in the cold." Fin said, and Elliot nodded, trying to avoid showing any emotion. Fin turned and began to head off again, but then paused and asked, "How long have you loved her?"

Elliot was stunned by the question at first, coming from Fin, but then answered, "As long as I have known her. I just never recognized it for what it was." After Fin had walked away Elliot said quietly, "Hold on Liv." As he looked around he recognized the area. In a rush he was returned to a day he would never forget.

_Olivia looked exhausted, Elliot could tell that she had been up all night when he walked into the precinct very early in the morning. They were the only detectives in, the others would arrive in an hour or so. "Hey Liv." He said, sitting down at his desk next to hers. _

_"Hey El." She answered, giving him a smile. _

_"Don't tell me you were here all night." Elliot questioned, pulling the paperwork from her. He judged instantly that she had from the amount of work. _

_"Yes, well, this guy seriously needs to be put away. I am not going to have him get off on a light sentence. We need the proof from the other women of-" Olivia responded, but she was cut off when her phone started to ring. "Benson." Elliot listened in surprise at the changing expression on Olivia's face. "Mom, what is it? What's wrong? I can't understand, you have to settle down! Oh my god." She said, hanging up her phone. _

_"What's up?" asked Elliot, sprinting after Olivia as she ran to her locker and grabbed her badge and gun. _

_"My mom just told me that a plane ran into one of the trade towers."_

_When Olivia and Elliot got there mass panic had already spread. Hundreds of people ran past them, fighting to get away as fast as they could. The smoke was already thick in the air and dust particles made it difficult to see. Elliot looked around and found a congregation of ambulances and police cars. "Liv! Over here!" he exclaimed, and she ran over next to him. _

_"What can we do to help?" asked Olivia as she and Elliot showed their badges. _

_The officer they were talking to looked them over and said, "Anything. You know CPR and First Aid? The paramedics are overwhelmed." _

_The second plane hit shortly after. Elliot and Olivia were helping strap a victim onto a stretcher when a man came sprinting over to them. "The towers are collapsing! We need to get out of the way!" _

_"Come on Liv!" Elliot exclaimed, taking her hand. There was a loud crashing sound, followed by what could very well have been mistaken for a bomb's blast. Olivia followed after Elliot, but turned and suddenly fought her way free. "Liv! What are you doing?" But she hadn't heard, and was sprinting over to what looked like a young girl sprawled over on the ground, very narrowly missing getting run over by the fleeing crowds. _

_"Hey sweetheart. You just hold on. I am going to help you." whispered Olivia, scooping the girl up in her arms. Elliot had already come sprinting back and dragged Olivia along behind him, holding her hand so tightly so didn't think he would ever let go. They ran along the street and then Elliot pulled her behind the wall of a building, pressing her against it and standing directly in front of her. Olivia pressed her forehead against his chest as the ground shook violently. She clasped the young girl tightly in her arms and could feel her staggered breathing and the warm sticky blood seeping down her arms. The ground gave another violent lurch and a great blast of smoke and dust hurled by them. Olivia could feel Elliot tighten his hands around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. Then there was an eerie silence. _

_Olivia looked up and saw people just standing and staring. There was a great void in the distance from where the towers had fallen. Elliot glanced at Olivia and slowly released her. Olivia lay the girl down and looked her over. She had a huge gash across her stomach that was dotted with shards of glass and it was bleeding freely. "Elliot, we need the paramedics!" she cried, taking off her scarf and wrapping it around the wound. He looked down at her, and hesitated before stepping away, not wanting to leave her. "Elliot!" screamed Olivia, and he ran off._

_The girl was looking up at Olivia with wide green eyes and seemed to be in a state of severe shock. "You just relax. We are going to get you help. Just hold on, okay?" Olivia said, stroking the girl's forehead. The girl nodded, tears streaming down her face. Olivia bit her lip to keep her own emotions in hand and asked the girl what her name was. _

_"Andrea Hurley. Please tell my mommy what happened." The girl gasped, reaching her hand out to Olivia. _

_"I will." Olivia answered, "Just be still now." The girl nodded again, and then her breath seemed to get stuck in her throat. She didn't breathe again. "Andrea! Look at me! Don't you die!" cried Olivia, gently shaking her shoulder. "Andrea!" _

_Suddenly Elliot came sprinting back with a couple paramedics. "Liv!" _

_"She's not breathing!" Olivia yelled, and the paramedics rushed over. One checked her pulse while the other examined the wound. _

_He looked up at Olivia and shook his head. "I am sorry." _

_ Olivia stood and looked over at Elliot, tears streaming down her face. He looked at her with tremendous concern and then wrapped his arms around her. Olivia put her arms around his waist and sobbed into his shoulder. Elliot ran his hands gently across her back, feeling a deep surge of sorrow for her. Olivia was one of those people who could break your heart with one distraught look. She looked up at him, wiping her eyes. _

"_Sorry." She muttered, starting to step back. As she did so Elliot realized he never wanted to let her go. _


	6. Six

A/N: Well I hope you enjoy this section, the story is probably ¾ of the way done! By the way, did any of you see 'Weak' tonight? Was it just me, or did Olivia have some serious jealousy complexes towards doctor Hendrix over Elliot? Maybe I just played it up to more than it was, but the whole comment she made about Elliot being on rebound seemed to support my theory…

_Olivia was nothing sort of traumatized by the entire morning and so Elliot didn't think it was good for her to spend the night alone. "Liv, you can come too my house if you would like." Elliot said as they got into his car. _

_"No… I am fine." answered Olivia, looking over at him with exhausted and sad eyes. _

_"No you aren't. Either you spend the night at my house, or I am staying at your apartment." Elliot told her, and she looked up. _

_"You can stay over at my place, I doubt Kathy would approve of me barging in." Olivia said, leaning up against the window. _

_"She is out of town, remember? Visiting her family in Colorado with the kids." _

_"Oh yes. Sorry, I forgot. Whatever you want to do then is fine, but really, I am okay." She sighed, running a hand through her hair, finding it to be quite layered in dust. _

_Elliot sat on the couch, dozing off as he watched the news. He had shut it off earlier before Olivia had fallen asleep, as he didn't think she needed to see anymore replays of the events of the day. She was now sleeping soundly with her head resting on his thigh, her hand set gently next to it. Elliot looked at her sleeping so quietly and ran his hand across her cheek. He shut off the TV and fell asleep. _

_In what seemed like a few seconds, Elliot woke again when Olivia stirred. She sat up, looking around wildly, then saw him and seemed to settle a bit, though she was still crying. "Liv! What's wrong?" Elliot asked, putting his arms around her gently. _

_"Nothing. Just remembering…" she answered, "I have to get to bed." Quite suddenly he realized how very close she was to him and that the situation was getting a little out of control. He released her quickly and she directed him to the guest bedroom. _

_Elliot flopped down on his back, quite distraught. Not only was it 9/11 but he realized that his relationship with his partner was changing. "This is not good." He muttered to himself. At the same time Olivia put her face in her hands and muttered the same thing._

_The next day at work Elliot and Olivia were noticeably awkward towards one another, culminating in an incident that led to Olivia giving Elliot a smack across the face. It occurred when they were walking back down a hall and Elliot accidentally ran into her, consequently brushing against her butt. Olivia stopped dead and glared at him, and when he tried to explain that it was an accident, she slapped him as hard as she could, claiming he was smirking. Munch was walking by and stared at the two. "Oh my, do I sense some sexual tension between our two favorite detectives?" Elliot and Olivia both flushed bright red and she stalked off. "What is going on?" Munch asked, watching as Olivia went back to her desk. _

_"Nothing Munch." Said Elliot quickly. He went back and sat down at his desk, looking over at Olivia who was leafing through some papers. In no time at all they were yelling at one another again, arguing over the pointless topic of who would go and get a fax. _

_"Elliot! Olivia! In my office, right now!" Olivia dropped the file she had and stared at Cragen, who was glaring at them. _

_"What is going on with you two?" Cragen asked._

_"Nothing." Elliot responded instantly. Cragen looked over at him and then his jaw dropped._

_"What happened to your face?" he asked, and Elliot shrugged._

_Olivia looked away and Cragen shook his head. "Olivia, I heard what happened yesterday with the girl. I want you to take a week's sick leave."_

_"I will be fine." Olivia said, sitting up in a panic._

_"No you won't. Badge and gun please. Next Wednesday you can come back." Cragen said. "And Elliot, I think you should do the same." _

_Elliot and Olivia walked out of the precinct somewhat reluctantly, and Olivia immediately said, "Elliot, I am so sorry about smacking you." _

_"That's alright." Elliot answered, smiling at her. _

_"No really, I don't know what came over me. I am so sorry." She said, absentmindedly rubbing her shoulder. "And now what are we going to do with a week off?" _

_Elliot smiled as he looked over at her, and said, "No idea."_

_Elliot ended up staying with Olivia the rest of the week, and they managed to keep their restlessness to a minimum. However, when Tuesday night rolled around, both were quite anxiously awaiting returning to work. Olivia was wearing just a tan k top and pajama pants when she walked out to find Elliot in nothing but a t shirt and boxers. He looked up from the newspaper and smiled at her. Olivia was quite displeased when he did this, as seeing him wearing pretty much nothing was enough to make her heart beat uncomfortably fast, but now with the smile she was quite certain she was going to pass out. What is wrong with me? Thought Olivia, shaking her head. Elliot stood up and walked over to her. "Ready to get back to work?" "I doubt I have ever been more ready!" laughed Olivia. Elliot grinned and said, "Me either. Thanks for letting me stay." "No problem." Answered Olivia, leaning up and kissing his cheek. Elliot was stunned at this sudden gesture of affection but wasn't about to deny that he enjoyed it. So he just placed his hands on her hips and looked into her dark chocolate eyes. There was a moment of tremendously awkward silence and Olivia looked down. He took one hand and raised her chin to meet his gaze. In a rush of emotion he kissed her. As she responded in a very welcoming way by wrapping her arms around his neck Elliot doubted he had ever been so happy in his whole life. After what seemed an eternity he pulled away, however reluctantly. They looked at one another for a moment and then Olivia's eyes widened. "What just happened?" _

_"I am not sure…" said Elliot, still somewhat breathless. Olivia didn't say another word and walked off to her bedroom. Elliot took a deep breath and realized that if he took this one step further it would be an affair. And he couldn't drag Olivia through that._

_The next morning she was nice to him, but seemed a little bit sad. They didn't mention the night before and went to work in silence. A little later in the day Olivia had gone off to talk to Alex. Elliot got a little worried after an hour and walked over and knocked on the office door. Much to his surprise Alex came to the door looking quite upset, and then upon seeing him she turned livid. "Hey…" he began, looking in and seeing Olivia sitting in a chair next to Alex's desk. Alex noticed his gaze and slammed the door so hard the windows rattled. _

_"What the hell did you do to her?" hissed Alex, grabbing his collar and yanking him closer. "I swear to god Elliot if you got her pregnant…" _

_"What? I don't know what you are talking about." _

_"Oh whatever. Everything was going fine and we were discussing the case and then I mentioned your name and she started crying. Olivia! Crying! I had no clue what to do, I have never seen her cry before." Alex whispered, shaking her head at him. "She doesn't need you to screw up her life, Elliot. What is it, you think because you are married you can just go and screw your partner because she's not and no hard feelings?" _

_"Alex! We didn't do anything like that! It was just one kiss. Look… yesterday was horrible day for everyone in the country, and Liv and I were no exception. We weren't thinking straight…" exclaimed Elliot, shocked at the ADA's accusations. She didn't answer and just shook her head, stomping back into the office. Elliot waited very patiently and 15 minutes later Olivia walked out, looking quite composed. Alex followed after, glaring at Elliot the whole way out. Olivia stood next to Elliot and the ADA smiled at her. "Oh, Alex, I was wondering, could you get a warrant for searching Mr. Joyce's car?" Elliot asked, and the ADA gave him a smoldering look. _

_"I don't know. I will see what I can do." She snapped, then asked, "Olivia, do you need the warrant?" _

_"Yes, it would be helpful. I already told you all the evidence we have. Is that enough to get it?" Olivia asked gently._

_"Of course. You will have it by morning." Alex said, then stalked off. _

_"Elliot… about last night… we just can't let it affect or work." She said slowly, not looking up at him._

_"It won't. I am sorry Liv."_

_"For what?"_

_"Everything."_

Elliot abruptly returned from this memory, made all the more painful because now he knew how long he had loved her, and now she could very well be lost forever. His cell phone began to ring and he picked it up. "Stabler."

"Mr. Stabler! I am an officer from a precinct just north of yours. A hispanic woman just showed up here, she doesn't speak English, but she keeps repeating get Stabler, get Stabler, Benson, Benson, Benson. I knew that Detective Benson is missing, and so I got your number. The woman also gave me something… a gray scarf with a blue stripe through it."

"That's hers!" exclaimed Elliot, "We are on our way."

Olivia was shaking from cold and Jake noticed as he handcuffed one of her hands to a steel pipe. "What's the matter? Chilly? You will be warmed up momentarily." He said with a snicker. Olivia could feel her stomach knotting up in fear, but she did her best not too show it.

"So tell me… do you always kidnap and rape your girlfriends?" she asked, and flinched as his hand came for her face. However, instead of the jaw splintering pain she usually experienced, he stroked her cheek. "

Nope, just you."

"I feel so special." Spat Olivia.

Jake glared and snapped, "You should. You are so beautiful. I am sorry for all I had to do to you, but you refused me this before."

"You aren't sorry. You are just like all the rapists I work against every day." Olivia snapped, wriggling as far away as she could. Jake ignored this and went and grabbed a ratty looking old blanket. He came back and knelt by her side, setting the blanket down beside her. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a bottle. He dumped the contents out onto the edge of the blanket. Olivia's eyes widened- she knew that smell. Chloroform. Jake suddenly jumped on top of her pinning her tightly beneath him. "Don't struggle." He whispered, pressing the damp end of the blanket tightly over her mouth and nose.

Olivia fought as hard as she could, but her lungs screamed at her to breathe and she took a tiny breath. Immediately it became harder to resist. She took another short breath, doing her best the shove and kick Jake off of her. Then she inhaled again, and again. Her breathing became steady and deep, and in moments the world went black. Jake was quite pleased with the results, Olivia was breathing slowly and was sound asleep. He ran a hand through her hair and then went about taking off the bandage over her knee. It had already bled through and he tossed it aside. Then he proceeded to remove the rest of what she was wearing and covered her over with the blanket. He took her clothes and bandage and threw them down a shaft the led underground, then went back over to her. He grinned and lay his gun down beside her head.

When Elliot arrived he found the Hispanic woman frantically pacing around, gripping Olivia's scarf in her hands. She turned when she saw him and looked hopefully at him. "Hi. I am Detective Stabler." He said, very slowly. The woman immediately ran over to him, shoving the scarf into his hands.

"Stabler. Get Benson."

Elliot quickly asked in Spanish, "Can you take me to where she is?" The woman nodded.

Fin looked over at Elliot, "I didn't know you spoke Spanish."

"Olivia's been teaching me." He answered, "I am pretty bad at it, though." The woman then seized his hand hauled him out the door. She led them a few blocks away to an abandoned warehouse and pointed to the door. Fin ran over to a suburban parked outside. "Elliot! It's got blood smeared all over the door. This has to be it!" Elliot looked up and whispered, "We are coming for you Liv!"

Elliot slipped on his bullet proof vest and pulled the strap tight about his waist. "Detective Stabler." Elliot turned and found a man on a horse looking down at him.

"Officer Gates!" Elliot exclaimed, instantly recognizing him as the man Olivia had talked to at the precinct. 

"Just William will do. However, I would like you too know, the little bastard tries to get away, radio me and we will catch him." Gates said, gesturing over his shoulder. Elliot looked and saw a good ten officers on horseback standing nearby, all preparing to split up and cover different exits. "Thanks." Elliot said, giving Gates' horse a pat on the nose. It threw its head in response and stamped. "He's ready to go." Laughed William, tightening his grip on the reins, "And believe me. Jake won't be happy if he tries to escape from this boy." Elliot looked at the horse and inwardly had to agree that the horse didn't appear to be much fun to cross.

Munch walked over and said, "Elliot, they are ready." Elliot nodded and pulled out his gun. He walked over to the door and the rest of the team gave the ready signal. The door broke down and they rushed inside.

Jake heard the commotion and panicked. He looked at Olivia, intensely angry he wouldn't have the opportunity to do what he came to do with her. Jake heard yelling downstairs as the door crashed down. He hastily pulled out the bottle of chloroform, dumping the rest of it onto the edge of the blanket, holding it over her mouth and nose once more. She breathed it in and Jake held it tighter. "Come on. Hurry up!" he hissed, pressing down harder. Suddenly her breathing became quite slow. Jake then stood and ran, leaving the edge of the blanket of her face.

Elliot sprinted up the stairs; the rest of the group was splitting up over the lower level. He heard loud pattering of feet above him and ran faster. As he leaped onto the landing he caught sight of Jake leaping into some sort of shaft. Elliot started to sprint after him, but then caught sight of Olivia. "Liv!" he yelled, running over and kneeling next to her. "Liv, wake up!" Elliot cried, but she didn't move. He shook her shoulder gently and found her skin to be icy cold.


	7. Seven

A/N: Alright this is probably the second to last chapter. A very long chapter! Enjoy! Please R&R!

"Elliot!" Fin yelled as he crested the top of the stairs. He skidded to a halt upon seeing Elliot kneeling over a motionless Olivia.

Elliot turned and yelled back, "Quick, we need paramedics! She isn't breathing!" Fin nodded and ran back downstairs. "Come on, Liv. Wake up." Elliot whispered, feeling for her pulse. Slow, but there. Elliot then glanced at the edge of the blanket and leaned over. The smell he knew was chloroform. Elliot quickly pulled the blanket off her face and wrapped it around the rest of her. She took a slow breath. "There you go. Just hang on for me." Elliot said, pulling her up into his arms. He then noticed the handcuff fastened to her wrist. Paramedics then came rushing in and Elliot told them to cut it. While they were hauling out the bolt cutters Elliot pulled the blanket up over her knee, seeing a very bloody mess that was very obviously a gunshot wound. He called over to a paramedic, and they instantly pulled out some bandaging material. When she was freed Elliot rose with her in his arms, where she hung quite limply as he hurried down the stairs. He flinched at a bright flash, protectively pulling Olivia closer to him. The paramedics ran down with him and quickly put her on a stretcher and covered her with another thick blanket. Elliot hesitantly let go of her hand and watched as they hurried her off to the ambulance. He then reached for his radio. "Gates! Jake got away!" The man didn't respond, and so Elliot ran around the back side of the building. And to his surprise he found Jake crawling of a hole in the side of the wall. "Telluride!" screamed Elliot, and Jake turned. His eyes widened and he sprinted away. Elliot ran as fast as he could after him, but Jake had a serious head start. Then from out of nowhere a horses pounding hooves sounded. Gate's big black horse slammed into Jake Telluride, sending him flying several feet in the air. Jake crumpled up, screaming in pain as the horse trotted over to him and stepped on his knee.

"Whoops. Bad horse." Said Gates, and Elliot could tell he was grinning.

Elliot came up to him, panting from the chase and Gates shook his head. Gates pulled his horse backwards, forcing it to stay away from Jake. As Elliot stepped over towards the moaning Telluride he said quietly, "Doesn't feel so good does it? What you did to my partner." Jake immediately stopped writhing on the ground and looked up at him, his hand trembling as he raised it. Elliot saw that it was coated with blood. Olivia's blood. "She did not deserve what you did to her." Elliot hissed. Jake held his gaze.

"Yes she did. Little bitch. But I didn't want her to die." Jake said, and Elliot paused a few steps away, his senses immediately warning him of imminent danger. However he ignored it and his icy blue gaze radiating fury as Jake smiled.

"Well you made a pretty good impression of wanting her dead."

"Oh no. I wanted her to live to know that the one person she loved was dead." Jake spat, and he suddenly came out of fetal position, producing a 9 millimeter. The shot rang loudly, and the last thing Elliot remembered was a horse's scream as the world went dark.

William Gates was having quite the time trying to restrain his horse. For some reason it just wouldn't settle down. He watched with a gnawing feeling in his gut as Elliot talked to Jake. His horse reared and shrieked loudly as the gun rang out. Elliot fell backwards, hitting the ground heavily. William quickly leapt off his horse and tackled Jake, handcuffing him and giving him a good kick to help him to his feet. Jake fought, violently flailing his arms and legs. Suddenly William saw a dark blur come swinging towards him and felt air rush by his face. Jake immediately went silent as the horses head collided with his own and Gates let go of him, leaving him sprawled motionless on the pavement. The big black horse stood, looking affectionately at his master. Gates smiled slightly and then turned. He sprinted over to Elliot, going down on his knees. "Detective!"

It was getting close to midnight, but Maureen didn't want to leave the hospital until her dad called with news on Olivia, just in case she was brought here. She was chatting with Dr. Swanson, both of them rather disconnected as they thought about the events of the day. Suddenly Maureen's phone rang. "Thank god!" she exclaimed, then picked it up.

"Hey Maureen. It's Fin. I just wanted to let you know we have Olivia and she will be there in a few minutes."

"Oh thank god! Is she okay? Where's my dad?"

"We don't know. She is unconscious right now, but she's a fighter. Your dad is over with the mounted police. They are trying to catch the guy who did this to her."

As she hung up Dr. Swanson asked, "Who was it?"

"One of my dad's partners. They found her, and she is going to be getting here in a few minutes."

"Good. Do me a favor and tell the desk that I will take her immediately upon arrival, and not to assign anyone else." Dr. Swanson said, hurrying off to go get ready for the OR.

Fin hung up the phone and sighed. Munch walked over and asked, "How was she?"

"The paramedics didn't say anything, but-" Fin was cut off by a gunshot ringing out. Munch whipped around and started sprinting off. Fin ran after, pulling his gun free of the holster.

They came around the back side of the building, finding an officer kneeling beside someone lying on the ground.

"Elliot!" yelled Munch and Fin stared.

William turned around and said, "It's alright. Bullet hit the vest. He just got knocked out." He gave Elliot a shake and then gave up. He then whistled, and his horse came trotting over, not exactly avoiding stepping all over Telluride. Fin and Munch stared at the horse who came as faithfully as a dog.

"Whoa. That's probably the weirdest thing I have ever seen." Munch muttered. William heard and laughed.

"We train our horses well. Watch this." Gates gave the horse a tap on the back of its elbow and it obediently dropped to its knees. William then pulled Elliot over its back and then gave a pull on the horses bridle. It stood, Elliot laying flopped on his stomach out cold across its back. Gates put one hand on Elliot's leg to steady him and with the other began leading the horse away. "Why don't you two pick up Jake over there? You will probably have to drag him, my horse knocked him out."

Munch and Fin ambled over to where Jake lay. As they hauled him to his feet Fin told Munch, "Remind me to never get in the way of the Mounted Police." Munch nodded, feeling exactly the same way.

Elliot heard a lot of talking. He opened his eyes, finding William, Fin, Munch, and Cragen all staring at him as a paramedic checked him over. "He's awake! Dear God Elliot, you gave us quite the scare!" exclaimed Cragen, and Elliot grinned.

"Sorry Cap. I am fine though. My chest and heads a little sore, but I am not dead." He said, gingerly rubbing his ribcage.

"Well if you feel up to it, Olivia just arrived at the ER and you can go see her. They are prepping her for surgery right now." Cragen said, and Elliot immediately stood. His vision swam slightly, but he ignored it. Cragen however, put out his hand and said, "I'll drive you."

The hours ticked by. Elliot sat with his head in his hands in the waiting room of the hospital. Finally a nurse walked over to him. "You are Miss Benson's partner right?" Elliot nodded and jumped to his feet. "Well you can see her now. She just woke up from anesthesia and is doing well. First thing she asked was to see you. Dr. Swanson will be in momentarily to talk with you two." The nurse said with a smile. She led him down the hall and opened a door. "There you are, detective."

Elliot looked in and found Olivia to be asleep again, an IV in her arm and draped in blankets. He slowly walked over and leaned over, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Olivia didn't stir and so he walked over to a chair.

"Detective?" Elliot turned and saw Doctor Swanson standing in the doorway. "You are listed as her next of kin, so I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"Sure." Elliot said, walking over to the doctor.

"Well, I pretty much reconstructed her knee joint during the surgery. She will need some intense physical therapy and crutches for two to three months, but she ought to make a full recovery. She also had two fractured ribs, and so I have done what I can for those, but they will just take time to heal. And she had a severe concussion, but that should be better within a couple days. So overall, she sustained some severe injuries, but I think she will be just fine." Doctor Swanson explained, and Elliot sighed in relief, but then remembered something.

"The rape kit?"

"Negative. It appears he wasn't able to get that far."

Elliot could have jumped for joy. If that bastard had raped her… he felt his fists clench. Doctor Swanson's voice stirred him out of his reverie.

"You are extraordinarily lucky you found her. She wouldn't have made it overnight. She was starting to get hypothermia and she had lost enough blood that she probably would have gone into a sleep and never woken up." He said, then looked over at Olivia. "She's a sweetheart, really. I have seen her in here with so many victims that I knew I had to take her case, I felt it was the only way I could say thanks."

Elliot looked up at the doctor, who was a bit teary eyed. "Perhaps you remember a girl about eight… it happened a few years back, but she was raped and beaten and it was Detective Benson that brought her in. She saved her life, found her in central park when she was jogging."

"Oh, I remember her! She was a beautiful little girl, sweet as could be." Elliot exclaimed, looking over at the doctor.

"Yes. She was. You see, she was my daughter."

Elliot stared briefly and then said, "Oh. I am so sorry."

"Don't be. Olivia gave her and I back a few years together."

"A few years? Where is she now?"

"Rachel had leukemia. She died three months ago." Doctor Swanson said, and then walked over to Olivia. "I will wake her up. She needs to stay up for a while after the anesthesia." Elliot walked over and stood slightly behind him. "Wake up, Miss Benson. Come on now, someone wants to see you." Doctor Swanson said, giving her some gentle shakes.

Olivia slowly opened her eyes. She looked right over at Elliot and a smile came across her face. He grinned back, her smile always made him feel wonderful, but tonight it was simply amazing.

"Alright, well I will leave you two. I will see you in the morning, Detective." Doctor Swanson said to Olivia, patting her hand.

She smiled back and watched as he walked out, shutting the door behind him. "El…" Olivia said quietly, sitting up slightly. Elliot hurried to her side and gently eased her back down.

"Get some rest, Liv."

"So you saved my life. I guess were even." Olivia said with a smile. Elliot just squeezed her hand gently. She looked at him and then a sad look came over her face. "I never want to lose you."

"You won't." Elliot told her firmly.

Olivia just sighed and asked, "Do you want to know the reason I didn't break up with Jake after he started hitting me?" Elliot looked up at her. "He told me he would get me fired, and I couldn't live with that."

"Liv! Your well being is so much more important than your career!" Elliot exclaimed.

"Yes. But you see it wasn't just my job. It was you. I couldn't bear the thought of never working with you again. I knew that if I got fired I would never have an excuse to talk to you again, because you have a wife and kids." Olivia said, and a tear fell slowly down her cheek.

"Liv… you should have told me. We could have told Cragen that whatever crap he was making up to get you fired was false, and even if he hadn't believed it, I wouldn't have stopped talking to you just because of the job. And Liv, I _had _a wife, I don't anymore." Elliot told her, brushing a hair away from her cheek, then he added, "You are my best friend. I was so unfocused this past month… I am furious that I didn't try to find out what was wrong earlier."

"I was talking to Alex the day after 9/11 and I told her how I was so hopelessly in love with you, and she told me that when the time came, you would feel the same way." Olivia said suddenly, finally telling Elliot something she had held in for years. There was no surprise on his face, only joy.

"When the time comes? Olivia, I have loved you since the first day I met you- the time has already come." Elliot responded, stroking her cheek. Olivia smiled a smile filled with radiance and ecstasy unparalleled in her life. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. She put her arms around his neck and fell into blissful contentment.

Olivia woke up the next morning very late, the sun was pouring in through the blinds and the hustle and bustle of the hospital surrounded her. She sat up slowly, her ribs giving her a bit of trouble. Glancing over at the clock she saw that it was nearly noon. Elliot was asleep in a chair next to her bed. "El!" Olivia whispered, reaching over and tapping his shoulder. He jumped awake.

"Liv! How are you feeling?" he questioned, kissing her forehead gently.

"Never better." She said happily, and then looked up as the door opened. Doctor Swanson walked in and saw her awake, the light back in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Good morning! How are you feeling?" he asked, stepping over next to her.

"Good. A little sore." She said, shifting slightly.

"Yes, well I want you to rest a couple days in here, but as soon as you start physical therapy you can go home. Of course you will have to come back 4 times a week, but at least you won't have to spend months here." Doctor Swanson said. "Tomorrow I want you to get up and moving a little bit, alright? But not today. However, I found something that might interest you both."

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a paper, handing it to Olivia. She took it and her eyes widened. "El!" He came up beside her and saw that it was the picture taken of him as he had stepped outside the warehouse. Olivia's head was leaning against his chest and his arms were clasped around her tightly.

"So this is the second time you two have graced the cover of the paper. Come on now, it has to be a sign." Smiled Doctor Swanson.

"Of what?" questioned Olivia.

"I think you both know." Doctor Swanson said evasively as he turned and stepped out of the room.

Elliot stayed with her throughout her three day residence, leaving only a couple times briefly. On the second day he left to go get some coffee and Olivia was quite bored sitting around, so she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The nurses had let her change into scrubs instead of a hospital gown, something she was very thankful for. Olivia glanced around, as she was fairly certain she wasn't supposed to walk on her own. When she saw no one she quickly wiggled off the edge of the bed and stood. Her knee took the weight hesitantly at first, but after a moment she stood quite well. And of course, just at that moment a nurse was walking by. She gave Olivia a smile and then did a double take and raced into the room. "Miss Benson, you are not supposed to be standing! Now you get back into bed." She scolded gently, and so Olivia sighed and sat back down. Then she looked up hopefully.

"Can I sit on the edge of the bed?"

The nurse looked at her suspiciously, but nodded. "Oh course honey. Just don't go sneaking off. I am sure your boyfriend will be back momentarily." Olivia blushed, but didn't say anything. The nurse smiled and said, "Well, I will be back in a few minutes. It's about time to change your bandage." Olivia winced and watched as the nurse walked out. However, almost immediately she popped her head back into the door. "Hey, do you want to see your visitor?"

"What visitor?" Olivia asked curiously.

"She says she's a family member." The nurse answered.

"Sure… bring her up. Though I don't have any family." Olivia added, almost to herself. The nurse then nodded and walked off. Olivia was swinging her good leg back and forth curiously, and then took the opportunity to get up again. She was determined to be able to at least make it to the sink and mirror to see how horrid she looked. Her knee wasn't appreciating it and pain shot up through her leg. Sighing she turned back, deciding she had better not do anymore damage to it. Abruptly her knee gave up the fight and she fell.

Suddenly a pair of hand grasped her from behind and saved her from colliding with the floor, hauling her back to her feet.

"Are you okay?" questioned a soft voice. Olivia turned and froze.

"Hi Kathy. What are you doing here?" Olivia questioned, stunned.

Kathy blushed and helped her sit down on the edge of the bed again. Then she eased herself into a chair beside her. "I just wanted to see how you were doing… I saw the story on the news… it's really horrible what happened to you."

"Well, you know it comes with the job. Plus, I haven't had the best taste in boyfriends in the past, so honestly it doesn't surprise me." Olivia said, running a hand gently over her knee.

"Oh. Well, anyway, I hope you feel better soon." Kathy said, "I will let you go though, I don't want to keep you. I am sure you have family that want to see you."

"Not really. You can stay if you want." Olivia said softly.

Kathy looked up at her and questioned, "Surely you have some family."

"Well… you know about my father, so I don't really have anyone on that side… and then my mother died a few years ago, she was an only child and her parents died when she was in high school." Olivia said, "And so you see, that pretty much takes care of my family tree. Non existent."

"I am so sorry." Kathy said, turning bright red.

"Don't worry about it! But I am sure that you came to tell me something."

"Yes, I did." Kathy answered, getting up and pacing around the room. "I…"

She was cut off my the nurse bustling back in with bandage changes. "I can talk to you later." Kathy said quickly, but Olivia shook her head.

"This doesn't take long." She said as the nurse pulled up the pant leg over her knee. Kathy, being a nurse, was quite used to this type of thing and watched as the other nurse slowly unwrapped the ACE bandage and then worked on the dressing. Olivia flinched as the final bandage came off, revealing a very unattractive set of stitches and lacerations all across her knee. Kathy then realized she felt sorry for Olivia, something she had never, ever felt before. The nurse went about her job quickly, and finished off by pulling Olivia's pant leg back down and snapping the weird looking brace back over it. "Anyways…" said Olivia, biting her lip against the burning pain in her knee as the nurse walked out.

"Oh… well I just wanted to ask you if you and Elliot… ever had an affair." Kathy asked point blank.

Olivia couldn't say she was particularly stunned by the question and so answered, "No. It started to get out of hand once, a few years back, but it never got any farther than one kiss. You know Elliot wouldn't have an affair."

Kathy smiled sadly, "Yes I know. But I wish he would have."

"What? You wanted Elliot to have an affair?"

"Well not exactly. It just would have made me feel less guilty right now." Kathy said, and then lay her hands across her stomach.

Olivia looked closely and then it sunk in. "You were having an affair."

"And now I am pregnant."


	8. Eight

Disclaimer: Since I haven't had one of these for a couple chapters, I decided I would put one up. I do not own them. If I tell myself that enough I almost start to believe it.

A/N: This chapter is kind of slow at first, wrapping up some loose ends, so be forewarned! But it does get better! Alright, I am going to quit guessing the number chapters after this because it's taking longer than I thought to wrap up but it's almost done! Please keep reading and reviewing, I love it when my inbox has reviews!

Olivia couldn't think of anything else to say, and so settled for a "Congratulations."

Kathy smiled and said, "Thanks. So just remember, it wasn't your fault our marriage broke up. I just wanted you to know that."

"Thanks, Kathy." Olivia said, smiling at the woman, "And who's the father?"

"He's a doctor at the hospital where I work. He doesn't know yet either, though. So far only you. Please don't tell Elliot." Kathy said, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Tell me what?"

Kathy turned to find Elliot standing in the doorway, holding a starbucks cup and a salad. She flushed bright red and looked at Olivia in panic.

"Nothing, Elliot." Olivia said sweetly, "Could I have my starbucks?"

Elliot instantly lost his curiosity at what they had been talking about when he saw the smile on her face. He bounded over to her, sitting on the edge of her bed and handing her the cup.

"Well, see you tomorrow Elliot." Kathy said, smiling and then walking out.

Olivia looked over at Elliot. "What's going on tomorrow?"

"Divorce court. What was she doing here?" He responded, taking the coffee she held out for him and taking a drink. He handed it back to her and she smiled at him.

"It will be okay, El. Kathy was just in to see how I was doing." She said, running a hand down his cheek. He didn't answer, and instead went to work eating the salad. Olivia ate the occasional bite he offered her, but hadn't had much of an appetite since the surgery.

Just as they were finishing up their lunch a familiar face came bouncing in. "Olivia! How are you feeling?" questioned Casey Novak.

"Much better." Olivia said with a smile.

"Good. Well I just thought I would check on you. I am on my way to interview Mr. Telluride. Everyone at the DA's office was fighting over who could take your case, but I got it! McCoy put up a huge fight; I have never seen him like that! They are all taking this very personally." Casey told her. Olivia flushed slightly. "I will get him, Olivia. Don't worry. I have found every possible charge to put against him and if all goes well he's looking at twenty five to life."

"Are you serious?" questioned Olivia, quite surprised.

"Yes. Let's see. I have assault and attempted murder on you, attempted murder of Elliot, assault of Officer Gates, and the list goes on." Casey said.

Olivia looked over at Elliot, her eyes wide, "What? He tried to kill you?"

Elliot sighed and said, "Yes, he shot me. He's either really stupid, has bad aim, or both, however, because I was wearing a vest."

Olivia was stunned and glared at Elliot, "You never told me that! Elliot, you could have been killed! I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

Casey watched the two argue for a couple minutes then quickly excused herself. "Well, you two work it out. Either way, I have him nailed. And Elliot, good luck in court tomorrow." Casey said, giving him a pat on the shoulder and then hugged Olivia.

The grass was still quite green at the cemetery and contrasted brilliantly with the red roses Olivia dropped beside the headstone. Olivia hadn't been to her mother's grave for nearly a month, which was very unusual considering she generally visited it at least once a week, if not more. She sighed as she leaned harder against her crutches. Her knee was still quite useless for walking, which meant no work, not even desk work, until next week. It had taken her a while to come to terms with what had happened to her, but even longer what the repercussions had been on the people around her. Jake had attacked Casey in interrogation, breaking her arm. He had shot Elliot, something that would have killed him had it not been for the vest. He had scared Maureen half to death the night he dragged Olivia into the hospital. Those were the things that really bothered her, since she considered them to be her fault because of her extraordinarily bad taste in boyfriends. But at least now she knew her luck had changed with Elliot.

Elliot had fared well in divorce court, considering his job, and was awarded two weekends a month and some holidays with his kids. Kathy was moving in with her fiancé, the doctor whom she had been having a relationship with for the past year and whose child she carried. The kids were more than a little sour about that, and Maureen constantly talked about how excited she was to be able to move out and see her dad more often.

Olivia jumped about ten feet into the air when suddenly a second bouquet of roses dropped in front of her. She turned around to find Elliot standing with a smile on his face. Olivia smiled back broadly as he kissed her cheek. "Well?" she questioned.

"Verdict's in. Jake's guilty on all counts. Novak just called me. He's got 25 years with no possibility of parole." Elliot told her with a grin.

"How did you know where to find me?" questioned Olivia, hopping closer to him.

He smirked and said, "I know you a lot better than you think." Olivia smiled at this and turned and took one last look at her mother's grave.

"Come on." She told him, and he nodded. For the first time ever, Olivia had company when walking from the cemetery.

Back at her apartment, Olivia sat on Elliot's lap with her arms around his neck. He ran his hands gently up and down her back and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Olivia sighed and pressed her head up against his chest, relaxing into his comforting hold. She yawned widely and Elliot looked down at her. "Tired?"

"A little." She admitted. Elliot put one arm underneath her knees and the other over her back, lifting her easily up off the couch. He carried her down the hall and pushed open the door to her room, laying her down on her back. "I could have walked, El." Olivia told him with a smile.

"I know that, but I liked carrying you." He answered with a grin. She took his hand and looked up at him. "Well, you get to sleep." He started to stand but she held his hand tighter.

"Please stay." She said, a puppy dog begging look on her face. Elliot had been given this look from her before, and hadn't ever been able to turn it down. If she weren't so god damn cute, he thought with a sigh. He walked around the side of her bed and lay down next to her, putting his arms around her waist.

Olivia closed her eyes, feeling his warm breath tickling her neck and ruffling her hair slightly. She sighed in contentment, running her hand absentmindedly up and down his arm. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and scooted closer to her. She moved so that she was snuggled right up against him, feeling his hand begin to gently rub her belly. Her hand found his and guided it underneath her shirt. Not wanting to push things to fast, he kept it her stomach region and eased himself up on his elbow. She looked up at him and he kissed her very passionately, running his hands through her hair.

The next day Olivia walked into work somewhat awkwardly, as she was still on crutches for another couple weeks. Elliot walked beside her, watching her like a hawk in case she had any misstep. As they stepped through the doors, Olivia felt an instant silence settle. Everyone had stopped what they were working on and were looking over at her. She flushed said hesitantly, "Hi." This caused an eruption of noise as everyone cheered happily, running over to her and giving her everything from flowers to hugs.

"Welcome back, Olivia." Said a voice Olivia recognized instantly. Cragen gave her a smile and pat on the shoulder.

"It's good to be back." Olivia said happily. She looked up and saw someone giving her an odd stare. She instantly realized who it was and exclaimed, "Lenny!"

Briscoe gave her a smile and said, "Did you honestly think anyone less brilliant would be your replacement? Cragen called me and asked if I would work SVU for a couple months until you were better. I have to keep your partner in line for you."

"Well thanks! He needs a short leash, mind you." Olivia said, giving Elliot a playful glare. Elliot scowled back equally jokingly and Lenny gave them an appraising glance.

"Dear lord, you two were just made for each other! I mean, in an entirely partner sense." Lenny commented with a smirk, and he and Elliot exchanged a very knowing look.

"What?" Olivia questioned.

"Nothing, beautiful. See you in a bit." Lenny said, and with that he and Elliot trotted out the door.

"Men." Olivia heard a voice sigh. She looked up saw Casey leaning up against the lockers. She laughed her agreement. "How are you doing?" Casey questioned, looking at Olivia's knee.

"So much better. Honestly, I told them I could walk just fine, but I got yelled at for requesting to go back to full work, and they made me keep the crutches." Olivia sighed, "And how are you?"

"Other than the fact I have a pink cast, I am fine. They had run out of every other color, including white! I told them that I was an ADA and how stupid I would look trying criminal cases while waving around this pretty pink goalpost! They seriously didn't understand the big deal! Can you believe that?" Casey exclaimed, pulling back her sleeve. Sure enough, the plaster was fluorescent pink. Olivia laughed so hard she thought she would die, and then hopped over to her desk, getting straight to work on some paperwork.

Elliot came running in the doors that evening, finding Olivia working very hard on a file. "Liv!" he exclaimed, running over to her desk and practically falling over into the chair beside it.

"What is it?" Olivia questioned, and he grabbed her hands excitedly.

"I went to the doctor today, she said I will be fine, I don't need to take anymore anti-viral med's for the HIV because I don't have it, and she is positive I won't get it!" he said happily. Olivia grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck in an ecstatic hug. Then she quickly let go, not wanting anyone to start any rumors, because they would likely be true this time around. She still remembered the time Munch and Finn had made fun of her and Elliot for days after they had been assigned the undercover assignment to be husband and wife. And of course the time they were questioning very loudly how she and Elliot were going to fake sleeping together was one of the few times Kathy came into the precinct and overheard. Elliot had gotten in big trouble for that one, slapped right in front of everyone.

Olivia was quite surprised at how quickly her month on desk duty went. Elliot continued to work with Lenny in the field, and she proved to be quite helpful in dealing with phone calls and paperwork, speeding up many of the cases. And her knee was healing quite well, hardly ever causing her much pain anymore. Her physical therapist was thrilled with her progress, saying she had improved in leaps and bounds. And in no time at all, so was given the okay for limited field work, one month before Christmas.

Elliot was, of course, still living with her. He had offered to move out, but she had told him he was still very welcome, and needless to say, he had no objections. Their first day in two months working together in the field became quite a lot more exciting than they had planned, however.

Olivia walked beside Elliot, her gait only slightly affected by her still healing knee. He held out his arm and she gladly took it, grateful for the aid. Her walking straightened out as she put some weight into his arm and they marched up the steps.

A light snow had started to fall and they knocked heavily on the door. It opened quite slowly and a very scrawny, greasy looking man appeared. "I am Detective Stabler. This is my partner, Detective Benson. We wanted to talk to you about the Missy Young rape." Elliot said as they both flashed their badges. The man squinted up at them, looking quite ready to slam the door.

His gaze the settled on Olivia and he said, "Well, I will talk to her."

"You are going to have to talk to both of us." Elliot snapped, but Olivia gave him an elbow in the side.

"Alright, Mr. Samson." Olivia said, walking into the apartment. Elliot stalked behind her protectively, glancing all around the dingy apartment.

"Wait here." He said to Elliot and Olivia when they reached the kitchen.

"Actually you need to stay where we can see you." Elliot said with a scowl as the man started to step off into a doorway.

"Sure thing, hold on." Mr. Samson replied, walking through the doorway anyway.

Elliot rolled his eyes and looked at Olivia, who had sat down on a kitchen chair. "Mr. Samson, we are waiting." She called as sweetly as she could. Mr. Samson appeared again and waltzed over to her.

"Sorry, Detective Benson. I never like to make a pretty lady wait. They can't get enough of me." He said, licking his lips provocatively.

Olivia choked back a gag and asked, "Oh is that so?"

"Surely you feel a certain… want for me?" he questioned her, his eyes roaming a little too much for her liking.

She shifted back in her seat, pulling the sides of her jacket up tighter around her. "So, Mr. Samson, did Missy Young like you?"

"Of course." He answered, not exactly looking at her face. Olivia was quite used to this type of treatment from perps, but it was infuriating Elliot. He turned and looked down the hall, noticing that a door was shut that he knew was open before.

"Hey, Samson! Where does this lead?" he called, and Mr. Samson immediately looked up, not answering. Elliot reached out and jiggled the handle, finding it to be locked. "Oh I get it, you locked it before we could see for ourselves."

"Oh no, if you want to see, go ahead. It's just my basement." Samson replied, getting up and walking over, pulling a key from his pocket. As he unlocked it he kept his gaze on Olivia, who had followed him. Elliot stepped forward, reaching for the light. As it turned on his eyes widened. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed.

Mr. Samson didn't wait a second longer. He slammed the door as hard as he could, catching Elliot off guard and throwing him down the stairs. Samson turned the lock and turned back to face Olivia, who had lunged forward. "You are in pain. I can see your limp." Samson stated plainly, "Do not move." She stood frozen, looking down the barrel of a gun.

"Now, I would have killed you both by now, but it's rare I get a lady cop. And a beautiful one at that." He said, stepping forward and seizing her arm. "And Missy Elliot, yes I did rape her, by the way. But trust me; you will experience it first hand. Do you want me to do everything I did to her to you? To help you out with your investigation? Oh, and there's a woman downstairs. Perhaps when we're done you can chat with her, if she's still alive." Olivia felt the guns barrel press up against the side of her head as he stepped behind her.

Elliot managed to stop his fall halfway down the stairs, grabbing hold of the railing. He could feel his heart racing and his head throbbed with pain, but all he could think about was Olivia. But as he looked back downstairs, he knew he was going to have to make a choice. A victim lay bound and gagged tied to a pole in the basement, bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound the abdomen. "Elliot! I am okay! Help her!" he heard Olivia pant, sounding anything but. Upstairs he heard Olivia yell and then a very loud crash. Someone yelped in pain as they skidded across the floor, slamming against a wall. Elliot looked once at the victim and then back up at the locked door. He made his choice.

He sprinted downstairs, jumping over a pile of junk and diving for the woman. He pulled off his coat, draping it over her and pressing down against the wound. With one hand he quickly radioed for paramedics and backup. The woman opened her eyes and looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "Hold on, sweetheart. Hold on." He whispered to her, brushing some hair away from her forehead. She took a ragged breath, laying one hand on top of his. A second crash echoed upstairs and Elliot could feel tears welling up in his eyes- he couldn't lose Olivia. But even as he panicked and began to consider going up and helping her, the victim's hand tightened over his and he was reminded that Olivia would want him down with the girl, no matter what.

"Please don't leave me!" the girl whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

"I am not going anywhere." answered Elliot, squeezing her hand as a tear fell down his cheek, "You just hold on."


	9. Nine

A/N: This is a slightly shorter chapter, the next should be longer as it will be the last! Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming! Also, I tried not too leave such an evil cliffhanger this time around, I know those can be rough! Oh yes, this chapter contains by far the most OE 'fluff' I guess you would call it. ;)

Disclaimer: If I owned SVU you would know, as Olivia and Elliot would already be together on the show and I wouldn't have to write wishful fan fictions!

Olivia hit the wall rather hard, her knee yelling in protest. She flopped over on her back, one arm twisted behind her. Samson grinned as he looked at her still form, leaning over her. He got down on his knees, slowly setting down the gun. He bent over her, tracing his grimy hands over her jaw. Suddenly her arm came out from behind her, smacking him across the head with the butt of her gun as hard as she could. He fell to the side, unconscious. Olivia quickly grabbed her cuffs and clipped them tightly on his hands. She then grabbed his gun and quickly emptied the bullets, then shoved it into her pocket.

She ran over to the door, kicking it as hard as she could with her good leg. It broke free and she hurried downstairs. Elliot looked up at her, a look of pure relief coming to his face. Olivia smiled at him and then bent over the victim, tossing her coat over the girl's bare legs. Elliot felt the girls hand drop from his and he looked at Olivia. "I've still got a pulse. I think she just passed out." Olivia said, holding onto the girl's wrist. "El… I know this is kind of an inconvenient time, but I just wanted you to know that I love you too."

"Really?" Elliot questioned, feeling a rush of emotion tingle up his spine.

"Really." She answered, smiling broadly.

The medics got there and quickly began to attend to the girl. Elliot and Olivia hurried upstairs and took Mr. Samson into custody. After he had been loaded into a car to be taken to the precinct, Elliot took Olivia in his arms, noticing the pain written across her face. "Are you okay?" he questioned gently.

"Yes, I am just out of shape." laughed Olivia, "But don't tell my doctors about this episode, they will have me on desk duty for the rest of my life!"

Fairly late that night they arrived back at Olivia's apartment, sopping wet from the chilly winter rain. "Oh… my… god…" exclaimed Elliot, shaking from the cold. He quickly yanked off his coat and shoes. Olivia grinned at him as she hung her coat up, snickering at his reaction.

"It's not that cold." She said, taking off her scarf and shoes.

"Yes it is." Answered Elliot, not hesitating as he removed his shirt.

Olivia caught herself staring and quickly turned away. She felt his hand on her arm and she looked up at him, flushing slightly. He smiled as he put a hand on the back of her neck and kissed her. She put her arms around him as he ran his hand through her wet hair. His hands then drifted down to her waist and pulled the ends of her shirt. She felt his fingers slowly unbuttoning it and finally pushing the wet fabric off her shoulders. Her own hands found his belt, fumbling slightly as she pulled it off. He suddenly picked up her legs and carried her across the hall, kicking open her bedroom door. He lay her gently down on the bed, crawling up and laying over her, holding himself up by his elbows. She looked up at him, her dark eyes full of passion. He kissed her again with intensity as she hooked her thumbs through the belt loops on his pants and pulled.

It was about midnight when the phone rang. "You have got to be kidding me." moaned Olivia, rolling over onto her side, Elliot kissing her neck as she did so.

"Elliot! Hold on, I have to get the phone!" exclaimed Olivia as he pulled her over to him, his hand stroking her bare belly. He was a bad listener as he simply proceeded with kissing her shoulder.

Olivia grinned but attempted to be calm while she answered, "Benson."

"Sorry to wake you up Olivia. Are you alright?" questioned Cragen, noticing how out of breath she seemed.

"Yes, I am fine. What's up?" she questioned doing her best to slow her breathing.

"Your victim just woke up from surgery. She wants to speak with you." Cragen said.

"We will be there as soon as we can." Olivia told him, hanging up the phone. "Our victim just got through surgery and we need to go and speak with her." She informed Elliot, wriggling out of his grasp.

Elliot sighed, running a hand through his hair and yawning. Then he flopped out of bed, yanking on some jeans and a sweater. Olivia put on some sweats and a long sleeve shirt and attempted to brush her hair. "Don't worry. You look beautiful." Elliot told her, walking up behind her and running a hand up her shirt.

"Thanks. But I don't want to scare our victim!" said Olivia, finishing brushing it out. As she turned around he pulled her hips towards him, pressing his lips to hers as he did so. "Elliot! I love you, but we have to get out of the apartment! We can finish later!" she exclaimed. Elliot looked slightly disappointed but followed her out the door.

Elliot walked into the victims room, finding her to be looking around the room with tired but very alive eyes. He smiled and said, "Hi Teresa. I am Detective Stabler."

"You saved me." She said, recognizing him instantly. Teresa looked up as Olivia stepped in. "Is that your wife?"

"That's my partner, Detective Benson." Elliot told her, and Olivia smiled broadly at the girl.

Teresa looked at Olivia approvingly and said, "She is so pretty. I heard her tell you she loved you."

Olivia flushed and said, "I thought you were unconscious."

"I was, mostly. But I heard you guys talking." Teresa said, looking between the two. "Thanks for coming in. I know you were probably busy, but I needed to tell you something."

"Oh we weren't busy at all, just sleeping." Elliot responded quickly as Olivia self consciously ran her hands through her still mussed hair. "What do you need to tell us sweetheart?"

"The man that had me… just before he shot me he said he had another girl, somewhere else…" as Teresa finished the story they looked at each other in shock.

Elliot and Olivia hurried out of Teresa's room, and were practically running down the hallway when a doctor grabbed Elliot's arm.

"Detective Stabler! I am Doctor Turnamin, Teresa's physician. I just wanted to tell you thanks. Another minute and she may have bled out. You saved her life." He said, shaking Elliot's hand.

"All in the line of duty." Elliot responded, and then he and Olivia politely excused themselves and sprinted to the car.

When Olivia and Elliot walked into work the next morning around nine, Munch and Fin immediately started their questioning. At about three in the morning Olivia and Elliot had found the second victim in an abandoned apartment and rushed her to the hospital. She had some severe bruising and trauma, but it looked like she was going to be okay. After a while their questioning died down and Olivia and Elliot set off to work. Olivia was exhausted, but quite thrilled with the night before. They had saved another victim, and well… She drifted off slightly, biting the end of her pen thoughtfully. Elliot looked up at her with a grin and she smiled broadly back, pen still in the corner of her mouth.

Munch sat back in his desk, a thoroughly disgusted look on his face. "You know, it never used to bother me when you two came into work tired and happy. However, at the moment, I must say I am somewhat disturbed."

"Shut up Munch. We got off of work at seven. We were called at midnight to the hospital." Elliot informed him.

Munch gagged and said, "Exactly, a five hour lapse."

"Seriously Munch! We didn't have time to do anything." exclaimed Olivia a little over zealously.

"What's on your neck Liv?" Munch suddenly asked, leaning forward.

Olivia's eyes widened and her hand clamped over the side of her neck.

"Hey, don't get worried. Just kidding! You didn't have time to do anything, remember?" Munch said, laughing hysterically.

Olivia scowled at him and went back to work. Around noon Elliot ran off to get some food for them and Olivia was searching around the file cabinet. Munch and Fin were watching her with interest and Fin whispered, "Do you really think they are finally sleeping together?"

"I have no doubt." Munch answered, "They have had the hots for each other a long time. They show it in subtle ways, sharing food, their pet names-"

Finn cut him off and said, "Oh give me a break Munch, Olivia could care less if we call her Liv. And I bet she would share her food with us, just the same as she does with Elliot."

Much rolled his eyes and said, "Try it. I dare you."

Fin got up and walked over to Olivia's desk. He pulled out a bag of chips and said, "Hey Liv, you want some chips? This is a really good kind."

Olivia looked up at him with a look of supreme disdain and said flatly, "No thanks. I am not hungry."

"Are you sure Liv?" Fin questioned, smiling very welcomingly.

"Please call me Olivia. And no, I don't want any." She snapped. Fin quickly raced back to his desk, stunned by his rejection.

"Told you." Munch said, "Now watch this."

Elliot had strolled back in , carrying some take out Chinese. "Hey Liv! How's it coming?"

"Great, El!" Olivia responded, smiling the smile that made all the males in the precinct just about pass out. Fin stared unbelievingly as Elliot unloaded the food and then they proceeded eating, every once in a while giving each other bites of their food. Elliot handed Olivia his fork and she ate the last bite off of it, giving it back to Elliot. He then scooped up the trash and walked over to a waste bin.

"Enough trash, _El_?" questioned Munch sincerely. Elliot looked over at him in disgust and walked by without saying a word.

Fin shook his head and whispered to Munch, "I can't believe I never noticed it."

Cragen stood quietly looking out the window of his office, watching as Olivia and Elliot exchanged remarks that left them both laughing. He doubted he had ever seen a pair with so much chemistry and talent. Thinking back on it, he thought it had been obvious. When he first put them together, Elliot was bitter and disillusioned, but still harbored great talent. Olivia had brought out the best in him, and Cragen knew that Elliot revered her in a way almost sinful for a married man. He had watched them grow as a unit, apprehending all manner of suspects, solving the most puzzling mysteries, and mastering double teamed interrogation tactics to a level he had never seen in all his years. Olivia was sympathetic and patient, checking Elliot's tendency to be temperamental. Cragen had watched them as they shared meals and coffee, trading off driving Elliot's car and staying late together when everyone else had gone. Once, the heat in the precinct had failed due to a blizzard the previous day, and the station was frigidly cold. Olivia had been stuck without a coat and Elliot had given her both his suit jacket and overcoat, insisting he would be fine. All of their antics were astoundingly adorable, even for someone as hardened as he. There was something special in the way they looked at one another and the gentle touches they gave to each other in simple gestures like taking the others hand when they needed to get somewhere fast. Recalling all of this made him hate what he had to do even more. He hated it beyond words, but he gathered up strength as he swung open the door. "Olivia, Elliot! In my office, now!" he called, and the two abruptly stopped laughing, looking up at him in shock.

"How's your knee?" Cragen asked Olivia as soon as she had stepped in the door.

"It's getting better." Olivia replied, feeling uneasy.

"Good. Well you get back to work, I need to talk to Elliot privately." Cragen told her flatly. Olivia glanced at Elliot, and a slight nod of his head gave her the silent approval. She hesitantly walked out, shutting the door softly behind her. "First of all, good work. I heard you saved that victims life." Cragen began and then paused as if he didn't want to day what came next. After a moment however, he began again quite firmly, "I have been hearing certain rumors about you and Detective Benson. Perhaps you would like to set them straight."

"What kind of rumors?" asked Elliot slowly, fairly certain he knew the answer.

"That you are having a relationship- and not one of partners. Specifically, that you are sleeping together." Cragen said, and Elliot looked away. "Answer me Detective. Is it true?"

Elliot looked up, defiance sparkling in his clear blue eyes. "Yes." He noticed Cragens lack of surprise and quickly supplemented, "But it won't interfere with our work. You have my word."

"Well, I wouldn't concern yourself about that." Cragen replied, leaning back into his chair.

"What do you mean?" asked Elliot, his eyes narrowing.

"I am transferring Olivia out of SVU. I offered her up to homicide this morning, they want another detective and were thrilled to hear she was available. However, the second the second the Bronx and Queens Homicide found out, they began to hound me to give her to them instead of the Manhattan branch."

"What? You are auctioning her off after all she's done for you?" Elliot spat, taking a menacing step forward.

"I am not auctioning her. I think it's best for her, not too mention the fact that relationships between partners are highly frowned upon. Can't you see it's hard on her, being on SVU with her past? Do you not care about your partner's welfare?" Cragen asked him, and quickly wished he had not said it.

"Do not ever accuse me of not caring for my partner! She is all I think about! And she is an outstanding cop. Everyone has trouble with SVU, but she wants to do it, as do I. For the victims. And if you transfer her, I am quitting! Olivia will remain my partner, or I am done." Elliot shouted, clenching his fists as they shook in anger.

"Elliot, I think you are overreacting…" Cragen started, but Elliot glared at him.

"So, are you still going to transfer her?" questioned Elliot.

"Yes." Cragen responded.

Elliot didn't say one word as he pulled his badge and gun from his belt, tossing them onto Cragen's desk. With that he turned and walked out.

Olivia was sitting at her desk and looked up instantly when Elliot came walking out. "El, what's going on?" she questioned, panic seeping into her voice as she noticed the absence of his badge and gun.

"They are transferring you into homicide! I am not going to work SVU without you!" Elliot exclaimed, and Olivia's jaw dropped. She got up and ran to Cragen's office.

"Captain, are you really transferring me?" she cried, hurrying to his desk.

"I am sorry Olivia." Cragen murmured. Olivia's eyes welled up with tears and Cragen added, "You know the rules. No partner relationships."

"Well, I won't ever forget SVU." Olivia said, and Cragen stood as Olivia yanked off badge and gun just as Elliot had done. She dropped them on top of Elliot's, a tear escaping down her cheek. As she walked out she paused in the doorway, "It was what I had always dreamed of doing. Helping people. I didn't fall in love with my partner to spite you or the NYPD, if that's what you are thinking. We were a team, and it just turned into something more. I am sorry. But you can tell homicide I am quitting."

Munch and Fin both stood as Olivia walked out, quite obviously crying. "Olivia, what's up?" Munch questioned gently.

"Cragen's kicking me out of SVU." Olivia said, wiping her eyes.

"Are you serious?" Fin screamed, looking utterly appalled. Olivia nodded and felt Elliot rest his hands on her shoulders. "You too, Elliot?"

"Yes. I am not going to let her take the heat for me." He said, squeezing Olivia's shoulders reassuringly.

Fin shook his head, "I can't believe that! It's horrible! What could you two possibly have done to merit this punishment?"

Olivia glanced at Elliot who sighed and told Fin, "We have been having a not just partners relationship. That's not allowed."

Munch and Fin both broke out into a series of cuss words and curses hearing that. "Sorry, but that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"What is?" Casey Novak questioned as she walked into the precinct.

"Elliot and Olivia have gotten fired for having a relationship!" Munch told her, and Casey froze, looking quite taken back.

"Why? That is not fair! No one cares. It's not as though it wasn't obvious for years." Casey said matter of factly.

"And we tried so hard to hide it." muttered Elliot with a small grin.

"Ya, well, you failed." Casey informed him, "I will talk to Cragen. We have to be able to work something out."

With that the ADA marched off to Cragen's office. Fifteen minutes later she re-emerged, carrying a small bundle in her arms. "You guys owe me big. I have gifted you with one month to prove yourselves. Don't screw it up." She said with a grin, dropping two familiar badges and guns on their desks.


	10. Ten

A/N: Since this is the final chapter, I just thought I would say thanks! It's been a great ride and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have! The reviews have been wonderful, and I hope (pretty please!) that everyone will review the story as a whole and let me know how you liked the ending!!!!!! And yes, there will be a sequel, so don't despair! It will be titled Redemption, and you should expect to see the beginning up in the next week, as soon as I go on winter break! Thanks so much for all of your support and feedback on this story, and please please review! This is a long chapter, a little over 11 pages, so just be forewarned!!!

Olivia and Elliot used that month to their full advantage. Cragen scrutinized them very closely, along with officials from the head of the department. But he noticed that Olivia and Elliot indeed worked exactly the same way as they before, and if anything, were doing even better. Their interrogation tactics improved, which was amazing, because Cragen had thought that they were as great as they ever would be before. However, there was a dramatic shift, particularly on Olivia's part. They had grown quite a lot less bitter about everything and were, in general, much happier people. Olivia wasn't just happy though, she positively glowed with radiance unequalled at any other time she had worked in SVU. This of course, garnered her up even more attention from males in the precinct than she had had before, though they all seemed to know she was not available. Cragen watched as Olivia and Elliot walked out of the interrogation room, smiling broadly as they had just gotten a confession from a tight lipped suspect. Casey gave her usual professional nod of approval at them and smiled.

Cragen sat in his office late one night, pondering various cases and his two detectives. He heard a knock and invited them in, and he looked up and saw Dr. Huang entering. "What brings you here this late doc?" he questioned, seeing the file in his hand.

"I wanted to talk to you about Elliot. I think I can help you make your decision on whether or not to keep him and Olivia partnered." Huang replied, and he set the file in front of Cragen.

Cragen glanced at it and saw the label 'Elliot Stabler' stamped on the inside cover. As he began to glance through it Huang continued, "For the past few months, Elliot has shown significant improvement, even with the trauma of Kathy leaving him. He has stopped having dreams about killing pedophiles and rapists, and has managed his anger much better. He is far happier and much less resistant to his psychiatrist in his sessions. And I believe it is all because of Olivia."

"What do you mean? They have been partners for years."

"Yes, but because he was married, he felt that calling her all the time to talk was inappropriate. And so he just let everything build up because he wouldn't talk about it at home. Now, he not only talks with Olivia at work, but also after and is now far better able to cope. She has given him the ability to talk, and be understood. It is my professional opinion that they should remain partners. Each is keeping the other mentally healthy and happy. However, it is your decision. I need to know, though, because I think Elliot can stop his ongoing treatment if she remains his partner. If she doesn't, I think he needs to continue."

"You mean, Elliot won't need any more therapy?"

"At this moment, he doesn't. But I feel that taking Olivia from him would probably aggravate the problem again. It's your decision, Captain."

The next morning Elliot walked in alone, and everyone of course instantly noticed this irregularity. "Elliot, where's Olivia?" questioned Munch, looking up from his desk.

"She's been really sick this week. I just dropped her off at the doctors." Elliot responded, sitting down in his chair.

"Really? That's awful. Tell her I hope she feels better soon." Munch said in a rare moment of sincerity.

"I will. She of course wanted to come to work today, but I told her no way." Elliot said, then turned and saw Cragen looking over at him, seeming to be mulling something over.

"You take good care of her." Cragen said after a moment.

"Of course. She's my partner."

Olivia returned the following day, looking a bit healthier, but not much. Elliot was looking at her in serious concern as she worked through some papers.

"Olivia! What was wrong?" questioned Fin as he walked by.

"The doctor says I have the flu. I told Elliot that's what it was and I could handle it." Olivia said dismissively, glaring at Elliot affectionately. He flashed her a dazzling smile. She rolled her eyes and went back to her work. "I am going to get coffee." Olivia said a couple hours later, getting up from her desk. As she walked back and set a cup on Elliot's desk she noticed two men standing in the doorway, looking right at her. "Could I help you?" she called, sitting down on her desk and sipping her coffee. They looked at one another and grinned.

"Yes, you are Detective Benson, correct?" one said, a tall blonde haired man in his late thirties.

"That's right." She answered, setting down her coffee and standing. "What do you need?"

"Oh, I am Detective Thompson, Bronx Homicide. And this is Detective Welsh." The blonde one answered, and they both showed their badges. "We just came to have a look at you, we hear you are on probation."

"That's right. Though not for the reasons you are thinking, that's for sure." Olivia responded, taking an instant disliking to them.

"Oh no, I talked to one of my buddies high up. He says you have been having sex with your partner." Thompson began, and Olivia turned bright red. "Oh, do not worry Detective. We aren't the least bit concerned about that in our precinct." He gave her a disgusting wink and took her arm. "Come, I know you will like our precinct if you hear more about it."

"Touch me again and I will have you arrested for sexual harassment." Olivia snapped, jerking out of his grasp, shaking with anger.

"Sorry, gorgeous." said Welsh, watching her from the side.

"Leave me alone. I am staying in SVU." Olivia hissed, stepping back.

"Oh I am sure. But somehow I don't think that the sex police will want two of their own screwing each other, it sets a bad example. And where is your partner in crime? Probably off screwing someone else, you guys are after all experienced in those matters." Thompson told her, glancing around.

"Actually, Thompson, I am right here." Elliot said, standing up and striding over to them. He was taller than both of them and they paled slightly at his furious demeanor. "She doesn't want you bothering my partner anymore, so I suggest you get out, or would you like me to help you?"

Thompson shook his head and started to walk away. "Oh, detective, I was just wondering, do you sex police do anything but work with people who are asking for what they get? Like drunk women who get raped, do you seriously think they are victims?"

Elliot was in the process of raising his hand to punch the guy's lights out, but Olivia beat him to it. She gave Thompson a solid punch to the jaw and he fell over backwards. "Did you read that about my mother or did you just make it up?" Olivia questioned, walking over to him as he scrambled up.

"Look, I didn't mean it that way. And all we wanted to do was come down and tell you a little bit about our precinct. You SVU detectives are insane."

"Oh, so you did read up about me. And let me tell you, you haven't done a very good job enticing me by the wonders of your precinct. Now tell me, one of our detectives left a couple months ago and you didn't bother one bit with him. Do you harass only female cops?" asked Olivia, raising her eyebrow at him.

Thompson glared furiously at her and then smirked, "Pretty much, yes." With that he and Welsh hurried out.

Elliot turned Olivia to face him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. God, what a bastard. Did he honestly think I would join after he said those things? He must really think I sleep around." She said bitterly, running her hand through her hair. Elliot gently touched her hand and then they headed out to talk to a witness.

On Christmas Eve morning Elliot and Olivia walked into Cragens office to find out the results of their probation. Cragen sat looking very solemn in his chair as he glanced at a letter. "Have a seat." He told them, gesturing towards the chairs. They sat down looking very nervous and were both tapping their hands anxiously on their knees. "You two have put me in a terrible spot." He said harshly, glaring at them.

Elliot visibly paled and Olivia nervously shifted.

"And why's that?" questioned Elliot.

"I have to write three homicide departments and tell them that Detective Benson is no longer available, as she and her partner are both staying on SVU." Cragen said, a smile coming across his face as he stood.

Olivia leapt out of her chair and threw her arms around him. "Thanks so much!" she exclaimed, finally letting go.

Cragen had turned red and Elliot laughed and shook his hand. As they trotted out, Huang stopped them. "Hey, Elliot. I have something for you." Elliot reached out and took the paper, quickly reading it over.

"Liv! I am done seeing the shrink!" he exclaimed, hugging her fiercely. After he let go he smiled at Huang, "Thanks, Doc."

Elliot and Olivia couldn't have been in better spirits when they headed to the NYPD Christmas ball that evening. Elliot had just finished adjusting his tux when Olivia walked out. His jaw dropped. He had always thought she was beautiful, but tonight she was so beyond that it was incredible. She wore a black dress that fell just below her knees with a halter top and it had several crossed straps in the back. It hugged all her curves just right and flared out just above her knees so the fabric flowed beautifully with her movement. "Like it?' she questioned, smiling broadly.

"Oh my God, you look amazing!" Elliot exclaimed, running over to her.

"Thanks! You look very studly yourself!" she said with a grin, kissing him on the cheek.

"Liv…" Elliot began, taking her hands gently.

"What is it, Elliot?" she questioned as he dropped down on one knee.

When they arrived at the ball there were already a great number of people there. Olivia was beaming as she walked along, her knee holding her weight steadily for the first time in months. She held Elliot's arm lightly as he waved at a fellow SVU officer. Munch and Fin immediately found them and hurried over to greet them.

"Merry Christmas!" Fin said, grinning at them.

"You too… what is that look for?" questioned Elliot, as Munch and Fin looked at one another smugly.

"Well, we have sort of spread the word about your little dance at the Fourth of July Party, and they are calling for a repeat performance." Munch said with a deeply pleased smirk.

"Oh my God, are you serious?" exclaimed Elliot, "Liv hasn't danced in months!"

Olivia lay a hand on his chest and said, "I think I should be fine. However, if you are chickening out, I can always dance with Munch."

Elliot's eyes widened and he said, "Oh no, I am totally ready!" Olivia laughed and took his hand. Munch looked severely disappointed.

"Hey Olivia, what did you get for Christmas from Mr. Stabler here?" Fin asked suddenly, staring down at her hand. Olivia smiled and held it out. A beautiful white gold ring with a large diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds and sapphires.

"They are engaged! Finally!" exclaimed Fin so loudly that several people turned to look.

Munch just flat stared at them. Then he finally regained composure and threw his arms around them both, something quite surprising. They hugged him back and he pulled away, looking almost teary eyed. "I have to go get something to drink."

When Elliot and Olivia walked onto the dance floor it became obvious that Munch and Fin hadn't been kidding. Everyone backed away and made room, standing around looking very eager to watch. Elliot sighed nervously as he held out his hands. Olivia took them and said, "Don't worry about it. You'll do fine. Just like fourth of July."

Cragen was standing fairly close to the dance floor as he chatted with the captain of another precinct. Suddenly the other man lost focus in what he was saying and was staring wide eyed at the dance floor. "Dear lord! Who are those two?" he exclaimed.

Cragen looked over and said, "Oh, that's Detectives Benson and Stabler, two of mine. They are evidently showing off their Latin ballroom skills." His friend didn't answer and merely stared.

Munch and Fin were meanwhile also watching Elliot and Olivia. The dance was incredible, they looked absolutely perfect for one another. The speed of the dance continued to increase until it reached an almost blindingly fast rate, leading to the final steps. Olivia finished by jumping up onto Elliot's waist and as he held her lower back she leaned back, stretching her arms out behind her. When the music stopped a grin came to her face and she put her arms around his neck. "You did amazing!" she told him, and he just smiled. She slowly jumped down as she loud cheering. Elliot still looked a little shell shocked and so she took his hand and led him off the floor amidst the din. They headed over to Munch and Fin, Munch now looking very bitter that he hadn't danced with her.

"Congratulations Olivia you have managed to make every man here fall in love with you again. I swear to God they were drooling all over themselves." Fin said, looking at Olivia who was flushed but quite happy. Her hair was now rather tousled, tripling her already drop dead sexy look.

"You know Elliot… did you ever consider that your little dance at the Fourth of July party could very well have been what made Kathy leave you?" questioned Munch, and Elliot laughed.

"She wasn't exactly very happy with me. But come on, its just a dance. Olivia has dragged me to more than one place in the past so that I can learn Latin ballroom." Elliot said, wrapping his arm around Olivia's waist.

"Just a dance? Are you kidding me? You two were all over each other!" Munch exclaimed, shaking his head.

Fin had walked away but returned soon after, handing Munch a beer and throwing Elliot and Olivia theirs. Olivia caught hers but quickly held it out to him. "I don't want any. I am just going to get a Pepsi."

"Come on, Olivia! It's just one beer!" exclaimed Munch.

"No! I don't want it!" yelled Olivia.

Fin's eyes widened. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Olivia didn't say anything and Elliot seized her arm, turning her to face him. He looked at her in shock and she tried to avoid his gaze.

"Oh my Lord, we are going to have a baby Benson!" exclaimed Fin, practically jumping up and down.

Olivia turned red and Elliot looked over at the two. "No, Baby Stabler."

It was a little after two in the morning when Elliot and Olivia got back to her apartment. "Liv, why didn't you tell me?" questioned Elliot, taking her hands.

"I didn't want you to feel like you had to marry me. After all, that's why you had to marry Kathy. I didn't want to have you go through that again." murmured Olivia, still not meeting his eyes.

"Liv… I married Kathy because it was the right thing to do. I want to marry you because I love you and have for a long time. Just remember that." He told her, raising her chin so that she could meet his eyes. He found her eyes to be full of tears.

"I love you so much, El." She told him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He held her too him, rubbing her back gently. As she stepped back he reached out and placed his hand on her still quite flat belly.

"How many weeks?"

"Six." She answered. Elliot smiled as he ran his hand up and down her stomach.

The next morning Elliot woke up first, finding Olivia still curled up against him, her arm wrapped around his waist. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her arm, shutting his eyes again. Suddenly he heard a loud knock on the door. Olivia woke up immediately, glancing around. "I will be right there!" Olivia yelled, and the knocking stopped. After quickly yanking on some clothes she hurried to the door, Elliot trailing close behind. She glanced through the peephole and gasped. "Elliot… you aren't going to believe this! Open the door." she said, stepping back. Elliot looked at her curiously and turned the knob.

"Merry Christmas Daddy!" shrieked Kathleen, jumping into his arms. Lizzie and Dickie were jumping up and down with delight and joined in on the group hug. Maureen walked in, looking quite smug.

She walked over to Olivia and said, "Merry Christmas, Olivia!" Olivia smiled and Maureen gave her a hug. Olivia was surprised but hugged her back happily.

After they had broken apart Olivia asked, "I thought you were with your mom for Christmas. How in the world did you convince her to let you come here?"

Maureen laughed and answered, "Well I can visit dad pretty much whenever I want since I just turned eighteen, and so I told her that since we spent a very long and boring Christmas Eve with her family, I was taking the kids to see dad. She was a little mad, but I told her to shove it and left."

"Maureen! That wasn't very nice!" exclaimed Elliot, walking over with a trail of kids tagging at his heels.

She gazed at him appraisingly and said, "I really didn't want to watch her make out with what's his face all morning, like she did last night. It was disgusting. Besides I would rather be with you."

Elliot smiled and gave his oldest daughter a hug.

"Livia!" exclaimed Lizzie, running over to her. Olivia picked her up and Lizzie gave her a fierce hug. Dickie watched jealously and Olivia laughed and knelt down. He happily threw his arms around her neck.

Kathleen was last to greet Olivia, and she stood back a moment. "Do you love my dad?" she asked suddenly.

"Very much." replied Olivia, and Kathleen broke into a broad smile.

"Good. I can't wait to have you as a stepmom!" she said, and at Olivia's surprised look she pointed to her hand, "Nice ring. Maureen helped my dad pick it out."

Elliot couldn't think of a time when he had had a better Christmas. As he sat and watched Olivia talking and laughing with Lizzie on her lap, he felt a surge of happiness race through him. He was with his kids and the woman he loved on a snowy Christmas morning and had a baby on the way. What could be better? Olivia looked over at him and smiled.

On the last day of January, Elliot Stabler married Olivia Benson in a wonderful ceremony at a gorgeous Catholic Church in Queens. Virtually everyone they knew came, including nearly the whole SVU precinct. Olivia had never looked more beautiful and you still couldn't tell she was pregnant. She wore a beautiful strapless dress with an extraordinarily long train and a thin veil covered her face. When he had pulled it back she had had tears in her eyes and he kissed her with a great deal of passion. Then they turned and faced the crowd as Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Stabler.

Olivia and Elliot were all smiles as they greeted the guests after the ceremony and before the party. A familiar red headed woman walked up to them, her long blue dress making her look very elegant. "Casey!" exclaimed Olivia, giving her a quick hug. Casey smiled and Elliot gave her a hug as well. The ADA then gave them a smirk, something they knew from experience preceded a major event.

"What is it?" questioned Elliot.

"Well, I have this friend, and I know she wasn't on your guest list, but I brought her along anyway. She said she wanted to see you guys again." Casey began, and Olivia and Elliot looked at each other, quite puzzled. Casey grinned broadly and turned around calling, "Alexandra, I want to introduce you to my friends." A woman with long curly blonde hair looked up. A smile came to her lips and she hurried over, dragging a man along behind her.

"It's been a while, you two. I am glad you finally discovered how perfect you were for each other." She said, the light dancing in her eyes, and Olivia and Elliot's jaws dropped.

"Alex!" Olivia exclaimed, though still frozen in place.

"Caesar Valez was killed three weeks ago. His network has consequently fallen apart. And I am now a graduate of the witness protection program!" Alex said, a smile lighting up her features. Olivia jumped forward and hugged the friend whom she never thought she would see again. Elliot joined in and after a while the group hug dispersed. "And this is Henry Samsry." Alex said, indicating to the man beside her. He rested his hand on her shoulder, clearly in love with their old ADA. Elliot gave him an appraising glance and Alex laughed. "You will like him, El. He's a cop, from the Denver Police Department. I was placed in a small town outside of Denver for Witness Protection as Sandra Thayet." Henry held out his hand and Elliot shook it, smiling at the cop.

"Take good care of her, or I will have to come after you." warned Elliot, and Henry grinned.

"And you will never believe this…" Alex began, and Elliot and Olivia looked at her. "So I tell them I have skills in law enforcement, thinking they will put me in a desk type job. Oh no. I get to Colorado and off I go to the Police Academy."

"You were a cop!" exclaimed Olivia, and Alex nodded with a grin.

"Yes, they partnered me with Henry because he is experienced and so I wasn't as likely to get injured, but oh man. Those were a wild few years!" Alex said, shaking her head. Olivia stared at her, completely stunned. Then her eyes welled up with tears and she hugged Alex again.

"I never thought I would see you again!" she exclaimed, wiping her eyes.

"I didn't either. But I got your wedding announcement in the mail, and I was shocked. I haven't had any contact with anyone from New York in years! So I called my agent and he told me I was free and had sent me it! But what did I tell you, Olivia? I told you Elliot would come round, didn't I? And I promised that I would be at your wedding." Alex said, smiling at Elliot.

"You did." said Olivia, leaning up against her husbands shoulder.

"So, have you moved back to New York?" questioned Elliot, and she nodded.

"Henry and I bought an apartment in the city. I am going to go back to being an ADA for SVU! Casey and I are going to both be handling your cases from now on." Alex said with a grin. "You have no idea how much it means to me to see you guys again. I have never had friends as great as you two."

"Thanks Alex. You are the greatest." laughed Elliot, patting her shoulder.

"Oh, I know." smirked Alex, and then she looked up and saw Cragen. "Captain!"

Cragen turned and saw her, his jaw dropping. "Alexandra!"

"That's right! I am a graduate of witness protection. And I have something for you." She said, stepping forward and reaching into her purse. His eyes widened as Alex dropped the pistol had had lent her all those years ago into his hands. "Thanks. It saved my life once."

"Keep it." Cragen said, placing it back into her hands. Alex smiled and hugged him. "Welcome back, Miss Alex."

Four Months Later

Olivia made her way to the interrogation room for her last interview with a suspect until she had her baby. She now had a slight belly, though it was still nothing very noticeable. Elliot met her outside it, looking slightly apprehensive. "Liv… I don't know about this one…"

"What is it Elliot?" Olivia questioned, glancing in through the window.

"Well, he keeps asking for the 'pretty lady cop' and won't talk to me." said Elliot, and Huang looked over at Olivia.

"He's a schizophrenic. But he is actually fairly lucid all things considered. I think he is only going to talk to you. He obviously knows something about you from what he keeps saying." Huang said.

Olivia looked in at the man they had collared for the kidnap of a six year old girl. The rape kit hadn't come back yet, but it didn't appear that he had done anything of that nature to her, which seemed odd to her.

"Alright. I will be back." Olivia said, kissing Elliot's cheek gently before walking in. The man lay curled up on the floor shaking and covering his eyes. "Larry? I am Detective Benson."

The man stopped twitching and looked at her. He immediately burst into tears and crawled over to her, throwing his arms around her knees. "Pretty cop. Pretty lady cop. Beautiful. Don't get hurt. Don't get hurt." He bawled, and Olivia looked down at him.

"Larry, what makes you think I will get hurt?" questioned Olivia.

"He said. He told me to take girl so I could talk to you. Talk to pretty lady cop, he said."

"Who said, Larry, who?" Olivia asked, and Larry let go of her knees. He looked right down at her stomach and screamed.

"He will kill you both! I don't want you to die! I don't want the baby to die!"

"Larry, you need to tell me who it is!" Olivia told him, kneeling down next to him. He looked up at her, his eyes boring into her hers. After a while he covered his face again.

"I don't know his name." muttered Larry, and then he looked back up at her. "Eyes."

"What about my eyes, Larry?"

"They are dark like his. So dark. But he is not pretty like you." Larry told her, and then dug into his pocket. "Here. He gave me your picture."

Olivia took the paper from him. It was from the same article a few years back when Elliot was shot, only it was the picture of her in her cop uniform that was featured inside the paper. Someone had circled it, highlighting the words _Detective Olivia Benson_.

"You don't like your picture! Here is the only other one I have, I hope you like this picture." Larry said, shoving another picture into her hand. Olivia gasped. It was a picture of her when she was about six years old, and was obviously taken using a zoom lens. She had a bruise across her face and had tears streaming down cheeks. Her mother had her hands on her shoulders, also crying and obviously trying to get Olivia to look at her. That had been the one time her mother had hit her when she was drunk. The fact Larry had a photo of it sent chills up her spine. Someone had been watching her.

Larry looked at the picture and said, "He told me he saw her hit you across the face because she got scared of you. Scared of your eyes, he said." Olivia looked up at him. That had been in fact what had happened. Her mother had been completely smashed, and had for some reason panicked when she looked at Olivia's eyes.

As she walked out of interrogation Elliot stopped her. "Olivia, are you okay?"

"Yes, I am just fine. Though I am really confused. Where did he get these?" Olivia answered, handing him the photos.

Elliot looked very concerned. "I don't know. We are going to have to find out."

The next morning Olivia awoke to her cell ringing. "Stabler."

"Hey, Olivia. It's Fin. So we just had a call from Bellevue Psyche. Larry killed himself in the middle of the night."

Olivia hung up the phone. Elliot sat up and looked over at her. "Larry killed himself. There goes are only link to whoever hired him to kidnap that girl." she told him.

"Great." sighed Elliot, flopping down on his back. Olivia crawled over on top of him and smiled. He put his hand on her hips and said, "I love you, Liv."

"I love you too." She answered, kissing him very affectionately. "Now and forever."

THE END

Elliot and Olivia's story continues in 'Redemption!'

Now, review review review!


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